Salvage
by stephanieebrown
Summary: AU where Artemis follows her father's footsteps to the Shadows instead of joining the Team. Her life as an assassin is more or less straight-forward until a certain Speedster and company rescue her from trouble. Can they make her turn her life around? Eventual Spitfire.
1. Archer

**Author's note: Hey guys. This idea tackled me at two in the morning and I found it intriguing so I decided to write it! **

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own whatever I do not own.**

* * *

Chapter One:

__You should get out too.__

_I__'d let you come with me but you'd slow me down._

_Don't you get it? In this family it's every girl for herself._

Artemis shakes her head and rubs at her eyes tiredly. This is not the first time she has revisited her sister's abandonment in her dreams. It won't be the last.

Grey eyes finally adjusting to the dark gloom that hangs heavy with the silence of a sleeping house, she throws the bed covers off of her body in one swift movement. Stretching her arms, she gets out of bed and winces as her bare feet come in contact with the chilled flooring. Mornings are not her forte. Artemis steals a glance at the digital clock on her bedside table and groans. She especially does not do _five in the freaking morning._

She makes her way over to the second bed in her room; the one that is identical to hers. Part of her hopes that the bed will become occupied again and she'll awake in the early hours of the morning and find a head of bushy, black hair. Another part of her wants the bed gone. It mocks her silently every time she glares at it. Every time it reminds her that she's too weak to leave. Not strong enough or brave enough to venture out on her own. Like her sister was. Like Jade was.

Artemis sits on the cold, unused bed and brings her legs up so that she can rest her arms on her knees. She gazes out of the window, at the hazy street below, and wishes she had got out when she could. _Mom would understand_, she thinks. But her mother is dead; assassinated just as she was released from prison. She doesn't know why. Perhaps her mother had possessed some important information that someone out there couldn't afford being blabbed. Artemis doesn't care why, not really, she just wants to _end_ whoever took her last chance of freedom away from her. Without Paula, Artemis was left to be raised by Lawrence, her father.

Sighing, Artemis realizes that there is no way she is getting back to sleep anytime soon and so gets up from her sister's bed and, as quietly as she can, makes for the door and slowly creaks it open.

Moving slowly so that the floorboards do not creak and wake her father, Artemis silently heads towards the bathroom at the end of the hallway. She pauses outside her father's bedroom and strains her ears for any sounds of the man on the other side of the door regaining consciousness. Silence greets her ears so she continues on to her destination.

Artemis successfully reaches the dingy bathroom without waking her father. Success! She rolls her eyes at her own foolishness but accepts that every mission completed, no matter how small, is a victory.

She flicks the switch on the wall upwards and is assaulted by the harsh, artificial light. Squinting until her eyes adjust to the onslaught, Artemis blearily gazes at her reflection in the cracked mirror. She looks awful. The bags under her eyes are due to countless sleepless nights and the discoloured bruise on her jaw is the result of an error during a training exercise with Lawrence the week before. Yawning, Artemis splashes cold water on her face which is both rejuvenating and coldly bitter. Grabbing a brush and a hairband left on the counter from yesterday, she works her blond hair into a tight ponytail. She hisses quietly as she encounters about half a dozen knots and angrily reminds herself that she should cut her hair which, when left down, skims the small of her back.

With another yawn, Artemis turns off the light and tip-toes back to her room and retrieves a dark green sports bag from her wardrobe. Shouldering the bag, she slips on a pair of shoes, not bothering to change out of her night clothes, and exits her room once more before leaving the apartment all together. She heads for the stairs and continues going up before she reaches a battered wooden door and grunts as she pushes it open.

* * *

Artemis is greeted with a sharp breeze and she curses herself for not bringing a jacket. Stepping out onto the roof, the blonde watches as the sky turns a pale orange-grey on the horizon. The sun has begun to rise.

Dropping the sports bag to the floor, Artemis kneels down and unzips it. The sound is loud in the silence of the morning. From the bag, she withdraws a sleek, green bow and a quiver full of arrows. Shouldering the quiver, Artemis turns to a wooden target to her right. When her father had noticed his daughter's talent with archery, he had set up the roof to be her space for target practice. She supposes that is one _perk_ of having a mercenary for a father.

Reaching back and withdrawing an arrow from her quiver, Artemis loads the bow and corrects her stance. She levels her left arm and makes sure her aim is spot-on. Pulling back her right arm, Artemis takes a moment to revel in the beauty that is archery.

As she holds the string back, she feels the power between her fingers. Bursting to be set free and sail through the air with deadly precision before hitting its target with a dull, satisfying _thwack._ Taking a deep breath, Artemis closes her eyes for a moment, taking in the crisp morning atmosphere, before opening them again and letting go with her right hand. The arrow cuts straight through the air like a blade and hits the center of the target with lethal accuracy. Artemis allows herself a small smile. Archery is her pride.

Soon, she is firing arrows; a dozen in just twenty seconds and watches as they sail towards their targets and never miss their mark. She doesn't need the jacket anymore and morning has now fully arrived. Just as she is about to let another arrow fly, she hears a voice from behind her and jumps, losing her aim and sending the arrow skittering in the wrong direction.

"You're getting better, Baby girl,"

Spinning around, Artemis finds her father leaning against the roof door.

"Wow," she drawls sarcastically. "this is early for you."

Lawrence narrows his eyes a fraction before smirking.

"Why, there's no need to be like that."

"What do you want, Dad?" Artemis grumbles.

"We've got ourselves a mission, Baby girl."

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**Read. ****_Enjoy. _****Review.**


	2. Mission

**A/N: Hey there, I'm back with a new chapter. I'm so pleased with the response this story has received so far. I love you guys!**

**Important:**** Before we begin on chapter two, I need to clear up everyone's ages. This story takes place in the 5 year gap (which is very AU-ish without Artemis as a hero).**

**Artemis: 18**

**Wally: 19 (just)**

**Dick: 16**

**Kaldur: 19**

**Conner: 19 (physiologically)**

**M'gann: 16 (human biological equivalent)**

**Roy: 22 (physiologically)**

**Jade: 23**

**Also, I'm going with Robin becoming Nightwing at 16 (roundabouts) to leave comfortable room for Jason Todd.**

**And now for the story...**

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Chapter Two:

_We've got ourselves a mission, Baby girl._

Artemis grumbles as she changes into her uniform; a dark green two-piece with lighter green accents and a full upper-face mask. She doesn't really need a mask. She's pretty sure the do-gooders know her ID anyway and it's not like she has a 'villain name'. Just Artemis, which kind of works in her favour anyway. _But still,_ she thinks, _I've got to keep up appearances haven't I?_ She wouldn't want to tarnish her father's precious reputation.

After yanking her boots on, Artemis shoulders her re-stocked quiver and pulls on her green gloves. She allows a glance at herself in the mirror. It surprises her how much things have changed in the past eight years. She had only really began as _The_ Artemis a year ago but she had been under rigorous training since before she was ten. She catches a glimpse of the _Alice in Wonderland_ poster reflecting in the mirror and frowns. It reminds her of how long ago she last saw her estranged sister; eight months, not long after her debut. Far too long in her opinion.

"Artemis!" her father yells from the stairs. "What's taking you so long?"

With a sigh, Artemis retrieves her bow from the dresser and stalks out of the apartment, locking the door on the way out.

She joins her dad again, now as Sportsmaster, on the rooftop. There's a chopper drawing closer and Artemis supposes that it's their ride._ Better than a lousy old van any day._ As the 'copter pulls nearer, it creates a miniature tornado and sends her hair, wild and crazy, in every direction. Particularly in her face. Spitting out blond strands and tugging the ponytail away from her eyes, Artemis follows Sportsmaster to the edge of the roof where a flimsy rope ladder has just been let down. Artemis climbs up the rope, hopefully looking more at ease than she feels, and allows herself to be helped onto the chopper by her father's strong grip.

She sits opposite him on the chopper, fiddling with a net arrow out of having nothing else to do. Artemis glances up at Sportsmaster and finds him silently analysing her. She sits up straighter under his scrutinizing gaze.

"Where are we going?" she asks her father. "Why are _we_ going?"

"Artemis, Artemis, Artemis," Sportsmaster sighs, shaking his head. "you're asking the wrong questions."

She stares at him coldly for a moment, holding his gaze. She narrows her eyes.

"What are we getting paid?" she asks finally.

"Now you're talking!" Sportsmaster barks. "$20,000"

"Each?"

"Each," he confirms.

"By who, killing who, where and why?" Artemis questions in rapid succession after taking a second to think about what she would do with that sort of money.

"At least now you've got your priorities sorted, Kid," her father grunts. "There's a global government meeting in Geneva in two days time discussing peace between Qurac and Bialya. The Ambassador of Qurac is meant to be there. Queen Bee wants us to take him out at his hotel tomorrow night so that she can rightfully claim the country."

"Ugh, Queen Bee," Artemis grumbles. "up to her old tricks again."

"Oh, don't speak about the lady like that, Baby girl," Sportsmaster chastens. He leans in. "she pays in cash."

That is enough to shut Artemis up in her fantasies for the rest of the journey.

* * *

The helicopter reaches its destination on schedule. Its passengers unboard quickly and efficiently and soon it is disappearing over the horizon again. The sun is lowering in the cloudless sky and Artemis can think of a dozen better ways to have spent her first free Saturday in weeks. If this mission takes too long she'll miss an important class in school and she's already behind in her homework. It's not like she doesn't already have a career per se (and it's not like that career doesn't pay extremely well when done right) but it doesn't hurt to be somewhat literate and gain other basic skills. They might come in useful someday and, besides, going to school makes her feel almost _normal._ Like she doesn't journey across the world every other week and get paid a bomb to stick an arrow through someone'd head.

Artemis sighs and silently follows the others through the roof door and down the stairs to a lavish, expensive looking hotel. They are greeted by a middle-aged weedy man with a badly plucked monobrow.

"Welcome, ladies and gentleman," he greets nasally. "If you would like to follow me; your accommodation is this way."

As monobrow-man leads them down the spacious hallway, Artemis can't help but feel sorry for him. He's most likely under some sort of blackmail right now from Queen Bee (but then most of the staff in this place probably is as well) and he is clearly feeling the pressure; his forehead is dripping with sweat. It is unlikely that he will be alive when their stay at the hotel comes to an end. _It's a shame,_ Artemis thinks. But she dispels the thought. It's necessary.

Her room is large and it reminds Artemis of a mash-up between a modern contemporary interior and the decor one might find in some sort of palace or castle. She grins in guilty delight before setting down her bow and quiver on an armchair that probably costs more than her entire apartment block. Tugging the mask off of her face, she lets her hair down and lets herself fall back on to the bed. Artemis hums in bliss. _Much better than back home._ This is _so_ worth it.

A harsh knock on the door brings her back from her moment of contentment and she grumbles before rolling off of the comfortable bed. Opening the door, only slightly (she's learnt from her mistakes), Artemis finds her dad, now unmasked himself, and opens the door wider. Without a word, the blond hulk of a man enters her room and looks around warily for any type of camera or radio device. Artemis isn't careless but she knows that Queen Bee would have the head of every staff member if any of the rooms were bugged. Her dad is just being paranoid.

Finally convinced that they are not being listened in to or being watched, Sportsmaster turns back to face his daughter and throws a paper file onto her bed.

"Some things on the Ambassador you should look up on," Lawrence tells her, his voice rough.

"Thanks," Artemis deadpans "so much."

Her father bristles as if he is going to tell her off and Artemis can't help but flinch. _How did it ever get to this?_

"Just make sure you're up to date,' he growls before stalking past her and out of the open door.

He slams it behind him.

With a groan, Artemis flops down onto the bed once more. Only, it doesn't feel so luxurious any more. She covers her face with both hands and lets out a muffled sigh.

Not for the first time, Artemis wishes she had left like Jade had all those years ago.

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**Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.**

**Read. ****_Enjoy. _****Review.**


	3. The President Wilson

**Author's note: Hello again! Pumping these chapters out like a champ! XD**

**Anyway, thank you so much for all your kind reviews, particularly guest reviewer Kylie for the constructive criticism. This is another transition chapter before the plot really begins but next chapter you'll see some plot, I swear!**

**Current Team members:**

**Nightwing**

**Kidflash**

**Aqualad**

**Superboy**

**Miss Martian**

**Beast Boy**

**Batgirl**

**Zatanna**

**Rocket**

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Chapter three:

Wally yawns and takes another bite out of the granola bar he had managed to swipe before boarding the bioship.

It's early in the morning - around eight or nine o'clock and after staying up most of the night, focusing on college work, the speedster is beat. He'd barely had any time to just _relax_ lately, and being rudely woken up at _eight fifteen_ this morning to be sent on a mission was not how he'd envisioned his Saturday to begin.

"Remind me again why Miss M isn't coming with us?" Kidflash asks, turning to Superboy who is at the helm of the ship.

His team-mate does not spare him a glance, choosing instead to concentrate on getting them to their destination.

"M'gann's taking Beast Boy on his first mission today," he answers, "and," he adds after a moment, "she doesn't want Garfield to feel left out."

Wally huffs before popping the last bite of his granola in his mouth.

"It'd be fster ifshe were 'ere," he grumbles half-heartedly around the oats between his teeth.

The boy next to him chuckles.

"Try talking without your mouth full next time, Kid," he pokes fun at him, "your true self is showing."

Wally rolls his eyes at his best friend before stopping to stare at him.

It had been only four months since Robin had become Nightwing. _Five_ months since Dick Grayson had been couch-surfing between his and Roy's place. And three months since his friend had stopped trying to get his mentor and surrogate father to come to terms with his decisions. Things hadn't been easy for his honorary brother recently but, as much as Wally hated to admit it, he had been doing a good job at _going Batman_ and not letting his true emotions seep past the new mask that he wore over his eyes.

"Uh, Kid?" Nightwing waves a gloved hand in front of Wally's face, breaking him out of his thoughts, "stop staring at me like that," the sixteen year-old tries for a grin, "it's freaking me out."

Wally barks out a short laugh before turning to face the front.

"Sorry," he says, "was just thinking."

"Well stop thinking and get ready, we're almost here," cuts in Batgirl cheerily from Nightwing's other side, "oh, sorry," she feigns apology, "am I interrupting something?"

They both laugh and Nightwing moves to nudge his friend affectionately.

"If you could focus," Conner interrupts. "we're here."

* * *

Arriving two days before hand left Artemis with a whole day to herself. _Mostly_. She spends most of the next morning sharpening her arrows and making sure they were in tip-top condition. _All the better to slice through people's throats with._ A grin starts to form on her face before her eyebrows pull her lips into a frown. She's beginning to sound like Lawrence and she doesn't like that. Not one bit.

Initially, her father was beyond disappointed at Jade's disappearance, wasting no time to relieve his anger on the daughter who stayed behind, but was soon delighted as sightings of the mysterious and deadly _Cheshire_ began to increase. Artemis hadn't wanted to believe that Cheshire was Jade but almost a year after her departure Jade showed up in the apartment, a sword at her hip and ghastly mask in hand. Despite Jade's estrangement from the family, and obvious resentment towards their father, Lawrence was still proud of what she had become.

Artemis is another story.

Jade still refused to be 'part of the family' so Sportsmaster wasted no time in beginning Artemis' harsh training. He wanted her to be like her sister; efficient, deadly, with a ruthless reputation. Only, he wanted Artemis to be _his._ So that he could boast about his villain of a daughter who could kill a man with a glance. Basically, he wanted Artemis to boost his rep as a mercenary.

For the crazy-good pay checks and flexible working hours, Artemis is still all in. But she lacks the _drive_ that her father has. That her sister has. The drive that allows them to utterly destroy lives without batting an eye. She can never tell anyone, but Artemis is assaulted by a unpenetrable wave of guilt every time she performs an assassination. She can't help but think about the repercussions. About how many other countless lives she is ripping to shreds by fulfilling that one goal.

It's easy. To kill a man. A few simple movements and _bam. Easy_. But Artemis feels no joy in it like the others. She does what she does because she has to and because it's what her father has told her to do. But honestly? Her heart's not really in it at all.

A bang on the door makes Artemis jump and snap out of her musing.

"C'mon Artemis!" her father booms, more loud than necessary, "We got some things to go over before tomorrow."

"Coming!" Artemis yells, also very loud, in response.

She sets down her newly sharpened arrow neatly in a line with the others before standing and stretching her arms. She gives her cramped legs a shake before heading for the door.

* * *

"So, uh, remind me what we're doing again?" Kidflash asks, running a hand through his vibrant red hair.

The four of them had arrived in Geneva an hour ago and recently regrouped in civilian clothing outside the _President Wilson hotel_ after settling into their rooms which have been oh-so graciously paid for by Batman.

Barbara looks up from her phone and stares him dead in the eye proving that _yes, she has managed to master the bat-glare._

"We're here to stop an assassination attempt on the Quraci ambassador."

"Right," Wally yawns. "Who'd we get this tip-off from again?"

Dick and Barbara both roll their eyes. The former, behind a pair of dark shades.

"Roy told us," Conner reminds him.

"But how'd he know?" Wally asks before his eyes widen. "You don't think -?" he looks to his best friend for confirmation. "You don't think he's been with _Cheshire_ again do you?"

Dick laughs as he nods. Wally pretends to retch.

"Did you know she's got a sister?" Barbara asks, "Jade Nguyen, I mean. Started following Cheshire's footsteps last year?"

Wally rubs his nose, not really paying attention.

"Talk about keeping it in the family, I suppose."

Flipping her phone shut, Barbara stuff it in her jeans pocket.

"C'mon," she says, turning back towards the hotel, "let's go back inside, it's freezing out here."

_"I did offer you my jacket_," Dick chides, following the redhead.

"And I did _graciously decline your offer_."

Wally smirks and follows behind Conner as they enter the building.

Passing through the lobby, Wally takes a moment to gaze around him at the interior. He didn't even want to _think_ about how much this place costed all together. Without looking down, Wally continues walking and promptly bumps into someone.

Snapping his head down, his green eyes meet grey as he takes in the victim of his clumsiness. It's a girl, about his age he'd guess, with olive skin and extremely long blond hair tied into a tight ponytail at the back of her head. She's pretty, and Wally is about to try a cheesy pick-up line before her notices that he features are contorted into a glare.

"Why don't you watch where you're going, Idiot?" the girl snarls.

Her voice is rough but pleasant beneath the anger and as she stalks past him, Wally can't help but watch her leave.

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	4. Clash

**Author's note: Hello again! Sorry for the minor delay but I've been busy revising for life-changing exams and I had a leaving party/prom the other night so...Anyway! I'm here now and get ready for the longest chapter yet! It has action in it!**

**I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorite-ed and followed. You guys are rockstars.**

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Chapter four:

The seconds count down to go-time. Artemis secures the dark green mask over her face with nervous hands and lets out a barely audible sigh. forty-three minutes until the ambassadors at the peace conference are settled down nicely. Zero point seven hours until the assassination.

Artemis grabs her bow and checks to make sure it is in tip-top condition. Plucking the strings, running her hand delicately over the smooth metal. Once she is sure that her pride and joy is up to standards, she re-checks it.

She lifts her quiver up from the bed and checks her arrows too. Once satisfied that they are all lethal enough, Artemis secures the quiver over her bare shoulders. Grasping her bow in hand, she stalks out of the lavish hotel room for the last time.

Artemis meets up with Sportsmaster and the rest of their crew on the roof of the _President Wilson_ and can't help but wish she could stay within the comfortable confines of her hotel room instead of hanging around with a bunch of low-lifes in the bitter cold.

A chilly wind rakes the bare skin on her arms and abdomen and she involuntarily shivers.

With a nod shared between Sportsmaster and the apparent leader of what Artemis supposes is their back-up, the men all withdraw collapsible grappling guns and ready them. Artemis mimics the action without a second thought.

Firing the lines simultaneously, the squad move in flawless sync as they launch themselves from the rooftop and onto the roof of a smaller building across the street. Instead of feeling the thrill that comes with flying through the sky suspended by a mere grappling line, Artemis remembers the Monobrow-man, of whose name she will never know. She remembers his nasally voice and his sweating brow as she arcs through the air with a practiced grace. As her feet plant firmly on the roof along with the others, Artemis realizes that she would have been the last one to see him alive. An unbidden guilt wells up in her throat and Artemis wonders if this is how her victims' friends and family feel as they bid them farewell for the last time.

_No,_ Artemis scolds herself firmly. This is not the time for second-guessing herself. She has a job to do, and if it is messed up in any way by her badly timed self-doubt then her father will have her head.

Artemis follows the rest of her team silently as they travel from rooftop to rooftop. She wonders briefly why they couldn't just take a car but she keeps her mouth shut. Besides, it's far more dramatic and cliché this way.

Finally, they come to a halt on a rooftop as close to the building where their objective resides in a comfortable leather chair amongst many other important men and women as possible. This job requires precision. One false move and world war three could begin and it would be all their fault.

Precision is why Artemis is needed. She is hardly the best archer amongst villains but she is pretty damn high up on the list. Better than any sniper could ever be. She could get a clean shot from here. _Easily._

Collapsing her grappling gun and stowing it in her belt and _un-collapsing_ her bow, Artemis asks one of the grunts for the time. One forty-eight in the afternoon. Twelve minutes until she takes another's life.

She takes a small, one-eyed, binocular (it reminds her of a monocle) from her belt and secures it over her aiming eye. Her target it too far away to see with the naked-eye but once she secures the device Artemis can see him clearly. Every detail, down to the mole on his chin.

Reaching behind her, Artemis withdraws one of her sturdier arrows. This one should penetrate the thick glass windows easily from this distance and still have enough strength the slice the ambassador's throat in two.

Artemis takes a deep breath.

"You ready, Baby girl?" asks Sportsmaster from behind her. It's a question but it sounds more like a challenge.

Artemis closes her eyes firmly before opening them again. Their gaze focused and cold.

"As I'll ever be," she replies.

The plan is moving without a hitch. So why does Artemis feel like something is going to go so terribly wrong?

* * *

Wally secures the goggles over his eyes, dropping the world into a faint red hue. He, Nightwing, Batgirl and Superboy are all suited up (except Superboy, 'cause he doesn't exactly wear a _suit_ per se) and are positioned at various weak spots (pointed out by Nightwing) in the security's perimeter. Nightwing is roof bound, Batgirl is inside the building, Superboy has the front entrance covered whilst Kidflash is left to patrol the back of the building.

Wally huffs as he re-checks his wrist compartments for granola bars he already ate twenty minutes ago. He's bored and has no shame in announcing it.

"_So,_ BG, how's life?" he attempts at lighthearted conversation over the comm. link.

_"Kid,"_ Batgirl's voice chastens in his ear, albeit somewhat teasingly, _"the comm._ is not _for idle chit-chat."_

"Oh, you're no fun," Wally pouts, kicking his boots on the paving, "What's up with you, SB?"

_"Nothing suspicious on my end,"_ Superboy replies.

Wally rolls his eyes.

"Not exactly what I meant but-"

_"Confirmed sighting of suspicious activity on the rooftop opposite," _buts in Nightwing.

Wally perks. Finally, some action!

"What d'you see, 'Wing?" he asks, excited.

There is silence for a moment and Wally suspects that his friend is pulling out his binoculars.

_"Seven masked men; all in black, all armed,"_ he pauses, _"Sportsmaster's there...and a woman I don't recognize. Both armed, the woman with a bow."_

_And this just keeps getting more and more exciting._ Sportsmaster; dangerous mercenary? Unknown archer girl? Sweet!

"So let's get this show the road!" Wally is brimming with pent-up energy.

_"Hold up for a moment, KF,"_ Nightwing chuckles before becoming more serious. _"Superboy, Batgirl; your main objective is to keep the Quraci ambassador safe at all costs. KF, you're with me."_

"Score!" Wally can't help but exclaim loudly.

_"Okay, KF, meet me on the ground floor of that building in-"_

But Kidflash is already gone, speeding across the street in seconds.

Five minutes later, Nightwing reaches the topmost staircase that leads to the rooftop and to a handful of assassins. Kidflash is waiting there for him, leaning against the wall. He grins as he spots his team-mate.

"What took you so long?" he greets.

Nightwing just scowls at him, his expression akin to that of a parent about to scold a disobedient child.

"What?" Wally asks, amused. "Did you think I wouldn't wait for you? I'm hurt."

A glare to rival Batman's shuts him up as Nightwing steps up to the door.

"Ready?"

"I was born ready, dude."

The door bursts open and the two friends and team mates are out in a flash (pun _so intended_) and are taking down the men in swift, efficient movements. Wally speeds by and clobbers goons as he goes, taking time to glance around at Nightwing who is taking them out just as quickly as he is. He'll ever know how the heroes without super-powers cope and he's not afraid to admit he feels an incredible amount of respect for them.

Soon, it's just Sportsmaster and the archer woman who's left standing. Now that Wally can see her, he can't help but _oogle_ a bit. She's younger than he though, about his age he'd guess and is obviously attractive; well toned with long blond hair tied back and whipping around ferociously in the wind. He cannot see her face due to the green mask covering it but she seems oddly familiar somehow. Her gaze is sharp and she has a deadly looking arrow pointed directly towards him.

The man beside her is familiar because he's fought him before. Sportsmaster. Lawrence Crock. Crusher. _Lame._ Kidflash glances at Nightwing who has his eyes narrowed at the pair in front of them. It is in that second that Wally realizes that his friend looks every bit as dangerous as the mercenaries sharing their rooftop, if not more.

"Kidflash," Nightwing addresses him, eyes still locked on the enemy, "I've got Sportsmaster, you take Miss Archer."

Wally wants to complain about getting the easy meat but the fight has already commenced and soon he is dodging arrow after arrow that is proving increasingly difficult even with his super-speed.

"Stay still will you?" the girls snaps.

Her voice is rough, hostile, and all too familiar.

"So what do I call you?" he hollers as he zips this way and that trying to evade the onslaught. "Arrow-girl? Arrowette? Green Arrow? Oh wait, that's already been used. The Blonde Archer?"

"Shut it Kidmouth and it's Artemis!" the now named assassin yells.

"Kid_mouth_?" he mocks, "seriously?"

"What kind of name is _Kidflash_ anyway?" the girl - Artemis, can't help but jeer. "You're not exactly a kid anymore!"

Wally frowns but continues dodging arrows. She's got a point.

"If you'd stop playing with the thing and end him, we have a mission to complete!" Sportmaster shouts at the blonde between various kicks and hits from the light-footed hero that he can't quite get his hands on.

Artemis shuts up and fires an arrow that uncoils into a net that Wally just barely avoids. She snarls in annoyance.

Above them, a helicopter has pulled in and a rope ladder is let down.

"This is your last chance, Baby girl," Sportsmaster yells, finally landing a hit in Nightwing's stomach, temporarily winding him. "Do it now or it's all over!"

"Kinda busy!" Artemis hollers back but the small distraction from Sportsmaster is enough for Wally to knock the bow out of her hand.

It skitters to the ground a few feet away.

Artemis glares at him for a second before withdrawing a collapsible crossbow from her belt.

"You brought _spares?_" Wally whines, "no fair!"

"Now, Artemis, do it now!" Sportsmaster grunts as Nightwing whacks him around the jaw with an escrima stick.

The blonde whips around and aims her crossbow for the window leading _directly into the conference room._

"Superboy, Batgirl," Wally hurriedly addresses over the comm. link, "is the ambassador safe?"

_"Positive,"_ Batgirl responds, _"The conference room has been evacuated."_

Relief spreads across Wally's face and anger across the villainess' in front of him who must have guessed what was being said.

"You're gonna pay for this!" she snarls, now aiming the crossbow at him.

She fires but the arrow is knocked off course as Sportsmaster grabs her around the waist and leaps onto the retracting ladder.

"Another day, brats!" he calls as the chopper begins to fly away.

Wally growls and moves to leap after the assassins but is held back by Nightwing's hand on his shoulder.

"Not today," he tells him around a bloody lip. "We've got to focus on the Ambassador and make sure these thugs are taken care of."

Wally agrees, albeit grudgingly and turns to follow his team-mate in cuffing the unconscious men. He takes one last glance as the 'copter flies into the distance and Artemis' golden hair becomes an indistinguishable blur on the horizon.

* * *

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	5. Lost at Sea

**Author's Note: Heya! Sorry for being a little late again but exams are killing me and technically, I really should be revising, not writing right now but oh well!**

**This is another kind of 'transition chapter' but is still important plot-wise and I promise the action is coming back next chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Five:

Artemis curses to herself profusely. As she is lifted into the helicopter roughly, she stumbles and falls to her knees. Her face heats up to the white-hot of embarrassment and flushes in a sickly fuchsia colour. She failed. _She failed._

Goddammit, Lawrence is going to kill her!

She's never failed before. There's been mistakes and mishaps and Artemis was far from perfect when she first took up this lifestyle (let alone how humiliatingly bad she was before her dad pummeled her into shape) but there's never, _never,_ been an occasion where she's completely and utterly made a shambles of the mission like this.

And all because of Kidflash and his good-for-nothing_ team-mates._

Thinking about the red-headed speedster makes Artemis suddenly very angry. _He_ is the reason the near-faultless mission went up in smoke. Sure, the plan would have been pretty butchered as soon as the _heroes_ arrived and the appearance of the rising-in-fame Nightwing on the roof would have complicated things but it could have been salvageable. Maybe.

But that good for nothing Kid_idiot_ just had to wind her up, push her buttons, get her temper flaring. When Artemis gets into a temper, there's no holding back. She should have guessed from the beginning that he was a distraction. Because, that's what he was wasn't he? Whether the Speedster knew it or not, the tactical Nightwing had probably devised the entire thing the second the two burst onto the rooftop. Take out the big gun - Sportsmaster - and distract the would-be assassin long enough to secure the ambassador. And it had worked.

Artemis spits in fury as she rights herself and sits down. Her father is pacing the confined space in the helicopter with a scowl visible beneath the mask. He takes a second to glare at her, to which Artemis responds to by shrinking into the cold metal wall, before resuming his walk. Eventually, he stops and spits out of the hangar door angrily.

Sportsmaster turns to face Artemis and she knows that she's going to get a lot more than a 'telling-off'. The man takes a threatening step towards her but whatever he is going to say is interrupted as he puts a hand to the communicator in his ear.

"What is it?" he barks in annoyance, "who - ? Oh, it's you Jade,"

Artemis perks at the sound of her sister's name. What does she want? A family get-together, board-game night, jolly sing-along? Sadly, Artemis doubts it. She can always hope.

"No, we - _she_ didn't" Lawrence growls.

Artemis knows they are discussing her and she frowns, straining her ears to listen to the conversation.

"You what? Another one? Where?" Sportsmaster demands, "When...Tomorrow? Fine."

Artemis doesn't think that Jade called in to request a pizza night and the bad feeling she's just noticed settled in her stomach roars in protest when Sportsmaster closes the space between them with two strides.

Before she can think, Sportsmaster has Artemis pinned to the wall by her throat with a heavy, meaty hand. She struggles for breath but knows not to try and escape. She's learnt from _that particular_ mistake.

"You cost us a generous paycheck, Baby girl," he growls, masked face inches from hers, "We can't _afford_ to make mistakes like that."

Lawrence lets go suddenly and Artemis tumbles to the hard floor, wheezing. The cool metal is welcome on her burning cheeks.

"Luckily for you," he continues, turning to face the hangar, "your dear sister's got us a mission that'll set us straight for a _year_."

* * *

"Anything?" Wally asks for the umpteenth time, returning to the mission room with a half-eaten banana.

Nightwing sighs.

"KF, when I said ten minutes, I meant-"

"Ten minutes, yeah I know but I'm _bored._"

Dick chuckles and checks the holo-computer. Information starts streaming before his eyes and he analyzes it in seconds.

"Looks like BG was right. Cheshire's sister _has_ joined the family business."

Wally steps forward to look at the holographic screen as Nightwing pulls up two photos. One is a mugshot. The girl in the mugshot looks unimpressed and is actually _jeering_ at the camera. She has long blonde hair that smothers her shoulders and grey eyes that hint at her Asian descent. The second photo is a grainy shot of the girl who fought them on the rooftop. She's in green and her hair is tied back. Even though she's got a mask on her face, she is obviously the same person.

Wally gasps.

"I know her!"

Nightwing raises his eyebrows at his friend who hastens to add to his outburst.

"Well, not _know her-_know her but I err...bumped into her at the hotel in Geneva!"

Dick pulls up a table of information below the two images.

"Artemis Lian Crock," he reads aloud. "Sister of Jade Nguyen, Cheshire, daughter to Lawrence Crock or Sportsmaster and Paula Crock also known as the Huntress."

"Wow," Wally whistles, "Now that's _really_ keeping it in the family."

Nightwing continues reading.

"When Artemis was ten, her mother got shot down and arrested after a failed heist. She was left in a wheelchair in Blackgate to spend her sentence."

"And?"

"And, two years later she was released a little early for good behavior. She didn't make it ten minutes from prison before she was assassinated."

"_Ouch_."

Dick looks sadly at the girl on the screen. He doesn't really think she ever a choice in her career. She had such...promise though. Green Arrow would be impressed - hell, _Red Arrow_ would be impressed by her archery skills. And that's saying something.

Nightwing turns to Kidflash, who's staring at the mugshot in interest. The red-head stays there for a moment before he notices Dick's amused grin and blanches.

"Okay, first of all: ew!" Wally complains, "And secondly: Can we get them?"

Nightwing sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He'd been on Sportsmaster's trail for the past few months. The hit-man had been rising in popularity recently and Dick wants to know why. On one hand, whilst Lawrence Crock is cunning and dangerous, he's not the brightest of mercenaries which should make tracing him a whole lot easier. Nightwing knows where he spends most of his time and is surprised he didn't know about Artemis before Batgirl mentioned her in Geneva. On the other hand, his employers _are_ clever and have smoothed over any trails carefully and efficiently, which just makes tracing Sportsmaster and his daughter a whole lot harder.

"I don't think so...unless!" Nightwing starts typing feverishly.

"Unless what?" Wally prompts, "C'mon, Dude, don't leave me hanging!"

Ignoring Wally, Dick continues in his work.

"I planted a tracer on Sportsmaster during the fight on the roof," he begins.

"So? Unless Sportsmaster's hopping on another crusade straight after this _failure_ then tracking him's pretty pointless. We don't have anything on him unless we catch him in the act."

"_Unless,_ this tracker is also a bug that can hack any standard communication device and listen in on conversations. _Particularly conversations that might hint at a next assassination_?"

Wally looks slightly put out but largely impressed at the same time.

"Dude, that's pretty cool," Wally compliments, "I didn't know you could do that!"

Dick chuckles ruefully.

"Actually, Barbara made it." he admits. "She's amazingly good with tech."

"Barbara made it? Dude, I thought _you_ were the tech genius." he grins suddenly. "You're losing your touch."

"Shut-up." Nightwing shoots back, but it's good-natured and there's a hint of a smirk on his face.

After another minute of entering codes and getting past firewalls, Wally cannot stand the silence any longer.

"Have you got it yet?" he pesters.

"Got it."

* * *

Artemis grunts as she steps out from the shower. She's been 'home' for a grand total of barely half an hour and Lawrence already wants her on the roof practicing and perfecting ready for tomorrow when she has _another_ mission ungratefully obstructing her normal life. If she can call it _normal_ that is.

It's Monday night, meaning Artemis has already missed the due-date for the literature essay she hasn't had time to start. She'll be missing tomorrow to for the next mission (which is thankfully in Gotham) which is going to make her attendance look bad. Like _really_ bad. Worse than the kids who are suspended more than they are present - kind of bad.

Artemis groans as she dries her exhausted body and shimmies into clean clothes. There's something about stepping into the shower, gritty and grimy, and stepping out really _feeling_ clean. It's wondrous.

Twirling her dripping hair into a towel, Artemis stands up straighter and almost yells when she looks in the mirror. Almost. There's a familiar figure behind her and Artemis turns around to greet them face-to-face.

From the shadow of the hallway steps a young woman with Artemis' skin tone and eyes. But she's taller and instead of long blond locks, her hair is bushy, wild and jet-black. Jade grins easily and leans against the door frame.

"Hey, Sis," she greets casually, as if the last time the two girls had seen each other hadn't been _almost a year ago._

Artemis struggles to keep herself from running to her estranged sister and engulfing her in a hug that is just so o_ut-of-character_ that Artemis just barely keeps her own relaxed posture.

"Y'know, if you weren't my sister, I'd be worried that you just _walked in on me getting changed_."

Jade chuckles, a deep throaty sound that would send shivers up any man's spine.

"Sorry, Sis," she apologizes, or, at least, pretends to, "But we've got work to do."

And with that, Jade turns around and retreats down the dark corridor.

Artemis sighs. No _'it's good to see you'_ or _'I'm sorry I haven't been around'_. It's strictly business and Artemis hates how much of an _alien_ her sister is to her now. She harshly wishes that it had been Lawrence who had been caught that night, not Paula.

How Artemis wishes her mother were still here. Her anchor in the maelstrom that's brewing and swallowing her whole. Only, Artemis lost sight of that last piece of land a long time ago. Now she's just lost at sea.

She shakes herself.

"Who's the target?" Artemis asks as she catches up to Jade by the door.

"Bruce Wayne."

* * *

**Dun dun dun.**

**Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

**Read. _Enjoy. _Review.**


	6. Going South (in more ways than one)

**Author's Note: Ohmygosh finally! You don't know how sorry I am for not updating in two weeks but, to be fair, I _have _been busy and this chapter was excruciating to write.**

**Despite that, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Six:

Artemis should write a list of all the things she really wishes she doesn't have to do. Assassinating Bruce Wayne is one of them.

It's not the job that's bugging her. It should be relatively easy but it's _Bruce Wayne_ as in; donates-to-every-charity-in-the-damn-city Bruce Wayne. Playboy, Philanthropist, surrogate father.

_Easy pickings,_ Jade had said as they made their way to the vantage point. Artemis shifts in unease. There's something about doing a job in Gotham that doesn't sit well with her. It's too close to home; close enough for the guilt to cling to her skin even as she tries to deny it. Close enough for the self-doubt to linger in her mind and eat away at her brain.

Besides that, it's _Gotham._ As in, _Batman's_ city.

Artemis_ does not_ want to run into him.

She sighs dramatically as she searches the tip of her long ponytail for pesky split ends. She's leaning on the outside of the roof-door, her bow folded and tucked away neatly at her belt. Artemis doesn't even know why she's here. It's _Cheshire_ doing the deed, _Cheshire_ with the sniper in her hands, _Jade_ who is about to get her hands dirty. So why can't Artemis go to school and maybe catch up on the growing amount of work she's missing?

"What's wrong, Sis?" Jade asks, teasingly.

She doesn't look up from assembling the rifle but Jade _just knows._ She always has.

"What am I even doing here, Jade?" Artemis whines (although she'd never admit it).

Cheshire finishes her chore and look up at her sister through her haunting mask.

"What?" she asks innocently, "I can't request some family time?"

Artemis rolls her eyes. She can hear the smirk in her sister's voice and she isn't in the mood to play one of her games. She glares at the black-haired woman before her.

Jade shrugs.

"I thought it'd be a good experience for you. You know, learn a few new tricks."

Artemis stares, disbelieving at Jade for a few seconds before abruptly taking a series of blinks and closing her half-open mouth.

"Yeah right," she scoffs, "Since when have you ever cared about my work? Or has Dad put you up to this?"

Jade genuinely sighs and her shoulders slump a fraction of a centimeter. She closes in on Artemis and gives her shoulder a squeeze. It's awkward and a little too firm but...it's nice. Artemis has been a stranger to sisterly affection for years.

"I may not agree with Dad's way of work or you being his personal soldier but you're still my sister," Jade tells her before going back to her rifle, "and sisters have to look out for each other."

Artemis bites back a sarcastic retort about Jade _never_ being there for her because for a second, she feels genuinely touched.

"So what?" she asks, trying to keep her tone lighter than before, almost friendly, "I'm your moral support?"

Artemis is the one teasing now and she's enjoying how natural it feels to banter with her own sister.

Jade grins. It's not the feral or sly grins she reserves for her foes but a happy, amused smile that lights up her hardened eyes.

"More like my perky sidekick."

Artemis is grinning now too. Maybe it doesn't always have to be so hard.

* * *

Bruce drums his fingers against his leg, annoyed. He's beyond bored and is actually looking forward to the Team's intrusion to the prize-giving ceremony he had to attend.

Dick had called him previously to alert him of the attempt that is going to be made on his life by Cheshire and Artemis. The call has surprised him more than the news. He hadn't expected his surrogate son to make contact with him anytime soon after their last big argument a week ago. It had run along the lines of Dick being 'too reckless' and 'not yet ready' to strike out on his own as a hero yet.

That was a lie, of course. Both Bruce and Dick knew that Nightwing was more than ready. Batman just didn't want to admit it.

And to top it off, Bruce had probably just ruined any chance of reconciliation in the foreseeable future by his less than welcoming conversation over the phone.

_"Did you get all that, Bruce?" his estranged son had asked via mobile._

_"Hmm."_

_"So...I'll just get a squad together and-"_

_"No."_

_"No?"_

_"No," Bruce had repeated firmly, "you have a test that you can't afford to miss."_

_There was a short pause._

_"You're sending me to school while there's going to be an assassination attempt on your life?!"_

_"Yes," he had replied, "Batgirl is more than ready to offer support to members not accustomed to Gotham."_

_Another pause._

_"Wait, let me get this straight," Dick had started sounding angry, "You're benching me - sending me to school - and yet Barbara can go?! "_

_"As far as I know, Barbara doesn't have an important test."_

_"How do you even know I have a test?" he paused, "don't answer that. I can always re-take-"_

_"No."_

_"But-"_

_"No."_

_There was an audible sigh of frustration over the line._

_"Screw you, Bruce."_

_The line went dead._

Bruce genuinely feels guilty for being so short with Dick but he is only looking out for his well-being. Dick would thank him later...but probably not.

Bruce massages the bridge of his nose as a prize is handed to the next charity founder. The rift between him and Dick had more than doubled in the past month. He doesn't even know where his ward is sleeping nowadays. Was it at Roy's or Wally's? Or perhaps even the Mountain?

Just as Bruce is about to scan the roof tops for his assailants, there is an almighty crash as a blur of red and yellow barrels into him, knocking the air from his lungs and sending him to the ground with a muffled 'Sorry B-Man' mumbled in his ear. Less than a second later, there is a shattering of glass as a bullet whizzes through the space he'd just occupied and devastates the glass walls of the building behind them. Screams rip through the air as Bruce quickly rolls over to look in the direction from where the bullet came.

He see's Cheshire on the rooftop, gun in hand, pointed at him, as she goes for another shot.

* * *

Everything went crazy pretty fast.

After Wally bulldozed Bruce Wayne into the ground, the two shared a small nod before the man got up and began shepherding the panicked crowd into the nearest building that was not made primarily of glass. Once Wally is sure that Batman is safe (it still sounds absurd in his head), he rockets up to the rooftop where the bullet originated.

Rendezvousing with Aqualad on the stairs, the two burst through the door and into the midst of assassins on the roof. Superboy is already there, having leapt from his post five rooftops away. He is charging his way through the hired thugs that are dropping like insects around him whilst Rocket is keeping a death grip on the bubble enclosing the enraged Cheshire, who is fighting ferociously to be free. Batgirl swirls with agile precision through the opposition and her presence reminds Wally that he is going to have a _very_ moody Dick Grayson staying over tonight. He didn't get an explanation (although he didn't really expect one) after Dick had hung up on Bruce earlier but it didn't take a detective to work out that their conversation had _not_ gone down well.

Forced out of his thoughts by an arrow whizzing way too close to his nose for his liking, Wally snaps his gaze to meet a familiar, and angry-looking archer who already has another arrow loaded and ready to fire.

Leaping out of the way and zooming through the fighters, Wally lets an easy grins form on his face as he once again meets the hostile blonde.

"Hey there, Arrowette," he taunts (he can't help himself), "ya miss me?"

"It's _Artemis_!" she growls, aiming and shooting.

Wally easily dodges.

"Artemis as in the Greek Goddess right?" he quips, "Deity of the hunt and...isn't she that one who's forever gonna be a virgin?"

"Ugh!" Artemis grunts, her nostrils flaring, "I cannot _stand_ you!"

"'Course you can," Wally snarks, "You're just jealous of me, or should I say - you're just _green_ with envy?"

Artemis does not grace his humour with a comment and instead narrows her eyes and gets ready to fire again.

The two continue to dance around the rooftop in their state of taunting and threatening, Artemis on the offensive, Wally the defensive. He's still grinning. He might even admit that winding up the young villainess is _fun_.

The pair are broken out of their routine as a cry from Rocket is heard. Wally stops in his tracks and whips his head around to find that one of the thugs has manged to escape the others and has sneaked up behind Rocket, dealing a blow to the back of her head.

Raquel is okay - to Wally's immense relief - but the attack has distracted her and the bubble keeping the angry Cheshire at bay has disappeared.

Turning back around, Wally is caught off guard as a projectile missiles through the air and towards his face. If Wally hadn't thought fast (he'd take whatever pun he could find) and dodged he would probably have an arrow sticking out of his eye right now. As it is, a white-hot pain sears his side and he reaches up a gloved hand to his ear. It comes back wet.

Looking up at Artemis in disbelief, the archer stands smugly.

"You skimmed me!" he squeaks.

Wally watches as Artemis opens her mouth, about to reply, when Cheshire yells behind her.

"Alright, it's been fun kiddies, but it's time we were leaving."

Wally has half the mind to ignore the black-haired assassin, his ear still throbbing, but when he takes a second to glance at her, his eyes widen.

She's holding a trigger in her hands.

All fighting ceases on the roof and Wally can tell from the few conscious thugs' faces that this is not part of the plan. There's complete silence for an entire five seconds before Cheshire's eyes narrow ferally behind the mask and she presses the button.

In a series of ear-blasting explosions, the ground beneath Wally's feet begin to crumble and give way. Cheshire blows them a kiss before she shoots a grappling line at a helicopter above (when did that get there?!). The helicopter fastens its escape as soon as Cheshire's line is taught and Artemis hastens to fire her own but as she releases the trigger, no line escapes.

Staring in horror at the broken grappling device, Artemis looks up to the sky, where Cheshire, _her own sister,_ is disappearing into the rising smoke.

Wally's gaze snaps back from the sky to his team. They share a nod and begin to file quickly down the stairs, Superboy assisting a concussed Rocket.

Once everyone is through the door, Wally halts and look back at Artemis, who is now alone on the crumbling roof. He moves towards her, to warn her of the danger, when the floor beneath her collapses.

Taking way to long to stare is horror as Artemis plummets, Wally turns and races through the door, down the stairs, past his team (earning an annoyed yell from Conner on the way) and is out of the building in record time.

Chunks of concrete and debris are falling and Wally is glad that the earlier shooting has cleared this particular street of civilians.

Straining his eyes, Wally catches a glimpse of green and a swish of gold. _Artemis_. She's falling fast now, gathering speed, and does not appear to be conscious.

Wally zooms into the debris field, taking to the sidewalk and using the building to project himself high enough into the air, arms outstretched. For a terrifying moment, her doesn't think he'll catch her but the next second she's in his arms and he's already skidding out of the danger zone.

Breathing hard, Wally looks down at the girl in his arms. Her hair is tangled and wild and her mask is ripped, blood seeping through from a gash she must have obtained from hitting her head during the fall. Artemis doesn't look like the angry killer now. If anything, she looks vulnerable.

* * *

**UGH. ACTION. KILL ME NOW.**

**Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

**Read. _Enjoy. _Review.**


	7. Interrogation

**Author's Note: Heya, I'm updating on time and all! I'd like to thank everyone for their kind reviews and so on and without further ado, here is the nest chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Seven:

A dull throbbing is the first thing Artemis becomes aware of. It's a pulsing pain, located at the top of her forehead and is the first thing signalling that something is _wrong._

Lawrence had always berated her to use all of her senses when in possible danger so Artemis does just that. Without opening her eyes, the first thing Artemis does is takes a big sniff through her nose, careful to make sure it could pass off as an unconscious breath of course.

It smells...clean? Normal, nothing distinct for Artemis to pick out with her average, human sense of smell.

Next, it's Artemis' ears. She strains them in vain effort to catch anything from a muffled whisper to the sliding shut of a door but she hears nothing. Annoyance beginning to writhe in her veins, Artemis hurries on to the next sense: touch.

Her hands are bound with solid handcuffs to what she supposes is a chair that she's sitting on. H_ow had she not already noticed that?_ Sportsmaster would have her head, not to mention Cheshire.

_Cheshire. Jade. Gotham. Assassination of...Bruce Wayne, yes, that's it. Heroes. The building blowing up. Jade leaving her stranded. Falling as the building collapsed beneath her feet..._

The scene upon the roof rushes through Artemis' head with alarming speed and she finds the pulsing in her skull intensifies and she recounts the botched mission.

She remembers falling...and then what? After she hit her head on a chunk of tumbling debris (one obvious explanation for the throbbing) everything else was lost to the uncomfortable dark clutches of unbidden unconsciousness.

Artemis does know one thing for certain: She's not with her dad, her sister and not even the Shadows. For failing twice in a row so spectacularly, Artemis wouldn't have been surprised if she had woken up with a fresh array of injuries dealt to her body as punishment. But that is not the case. Instead, Artemis is sitting, quite comfortably, on a plastic chair (she's assuming from touch) with her hands bound not too tightly and in some sort of clean, safe place.

This doesn't sound like the Shadows at all.

This sounds something like-

Artemis' eyes snap open.

She is right about the chair, a cheap classroom plastic chair. Her cuffs are another story: they're solid. No breaking out of them any time soon. Her legs or feet are not bound and she smiles minutely. First mistake.

Gazing around the room, Artemis is underwhelmed. The walls, floor and ceiling are a cool grey and one wall is taken up by a large mirror that she's betting is a one-way window. The chair she's sitting on is the only piece of furniture present bar a rather modest looking cot. Nothing too special. Largely unimpressive.

Raking her gaze meticulously around the room, Artemis notices a minuscule camera lens in a top corner. She's being watched, that much is obvious and expected. She fixes her gaze on the camera, eyes stormy and daring. Her lips pucker into a smile and she is sure to give her captors the sweetest grin she can manage.

Her head may be hurt but her ego is left mostly undamaged. If she can promise one thing then that will be to give her captors hell.

The next thing Artemis notices is that her handcuffs are not really attached to the chair at all. Her arms are just resting behind her. Mistake number two.

_Are they even trying?_

Testing the firmness of her boot-clad feet on the ground, Artemis attempts to stand up. Her head protests with a dizzying weakness but she ignores it, quickly regaining her balance. She checks herself over.

As far as she can tell, she's sustaining no obvious wounds other than the gash on her forehead but she's furious in realizing that her utility belt is gone, leaving her without any useful gadgets to help any future escape, along with her bow and quiver. She curses.

Bringing her weary hands up to rub at her eye, Artemis finds her face bare of the familiar green mask. Her eyes widen in undisguised unease. She feels naked without her equipment. Exposed, and laid bare for the world to see; _vulnerable._

This only adds fuel to her inner fire and soon Artemis' guard is up and her eyes are flashing in her rising temper.

She doesn't know how, maybe it's the years spent training to be the absolute best, but Artemis has a feeling that her solitary confinement is about to be broken.

She whips around and has just enough time to lower herself into a defensive stance (though somewhat impeded by her bound hands) before the solid steel door before it opens.

As her visitor steps through the door, Artemis' eyes widen with desperate defeat. She's hopelessly outmatched by the man before her dressed all in black, his cape swishing behind him, his cowl menacing.

Batman's eyes are narrowed.

"Sit," he commands, his voice deep and authoritative.

Artemis' shoulders slump and she obeys without argument. _Yet_. Her father always taught her that out of the entire Justice League, the Batman is the one to fear the most. She sits.

The door closes behind Batman and Artemis can tell by his quick glance at the mirror that there is an audience on the other side of the glass. _Great._

Batman is glaring daggers at her, giving her the silent treatment. She's heard of this before: Batman stares at a crook for long enough and they begin weeping for their mothers. _Well, not today._

"What do you want from me?" Artemis scowls, trying her best to not seem bothered under the scrutinizing gaze.

She's failing miserably.

Batman throws down a paper file he'd been holding. It skids across the smooth floor and comes to rest at Artemis' feet. The file is open at a page full of notes with four photos pinned to it.

The first two are of Sportsmaster and Cheshire. The second a grainy photo of herself but it's the fourth that metaphorically lands a punch to her abdomen, winding her and making her eyes burn.

It's of her mother, some time before her arrest and disabling. She is young and healthy looking, a spitting image of Jade. Artemis' heart wrenches. Lawrence doesn't allow photos of Paula in the apartment.

"You are the daughter of Sportsmaster and Huntress, sister to Cheshire." It's spoken like a statement, not a question.

"So what?" Artemis snarls at the dark hero. "It doesn't take a genius to figure that out!"

She's angry and scared (though she'd never admit it) and her feelings are showing, something Jade had constantly berated her about. She's never been as good as Jade when it comes to keeping a lid on her emotions.

"Yesterday, you were captured after a failed attempt on the life of Bruce Wayne."

He's just stating facts and Artemis wonders what the point in all this is.

"Yeah, and?" she sneers, "What are you gonna do about it? Throw me in prison or what?"

Artemis knows better than to taunt _the Batman_ of all people but she can't help herself. She's angry that she can never complete a mission, that her sister _left her behind,_ that she's been captured by heroes and interrogated by King Gloom and Doom.

She's angry, hurt and afraid. And like a wild animal lashing out, this only make her all the more dangerous.

"There is a cell waiting for you in the BlackGate penitentiary," Batman informs her, emotionless, "However, there is some information-"

"What?" Artemis yells, "You think I'm going to rat out my own family? That's pretty low - even for _you._"

"_However,_" Batman repeats, ignoring Artemis' tirade, "there is some information I believe you possess and if you would share it," he pauses, "Your promised life sentence can be _negotiated_."

Artemis stares at the Bat for a second, eyes wide. The League is willing to lessen an assassin's time in prison for some information? That sounds dirty; probably Batman's idea.

"Is this like a 'you scratch my back if I scratch yours' kind of thing?" she scoffs, "Sorry, but I'm going to jail either way and you're not getting anything from me."

Artemis smiles triumphantly as Batman has no response. The vigilante narrows his masked eyes at her once more before turning his back on her and opening the door.

"I'll give you some time to think about it." He growls before slamming the heavy door back into its frame.

Artemis is left alone once more in her cell and she sighs quietly in satisfaction. No one is going to get anything from her anytime soon.

She closes her eyes for a second.

_And no one will be rescuing her anytime soon either._

* * *

Black Canary stands, firm and vigilant, as she watches the scene unfold before her beyond the glass. The girl has... spunk, she'd admit. It was quite impressive, the way she answered back to just about the most terrifying man in the Justice League.

Dinah allows a small smirk to pull at her lips as she turns, hearing the door slide open.

"My turn?" she asks Batman, amused.

Batman says nothing until Black Canary has almost passed him on her way to the cell.

"She's...difficult," he growls.

Dinah smiles a little.

"A woman's touch is all she needs!" she waves, without turning around, and heads down the corridor.

As soon as she rounds the corner, and the Bat is out of sight, she frowns. Artemis isn't the only kid who's in need of a session with her. But Dinah has a sneaking suspicion that Dick's been avoiding her and she can't get anything out of Wally or Roy either. It's infuriating, and Bruce's lack of trying for reconciliation on his part has got Dinah sending him icy glares every now and then.

She's already missing the dynamic between the two and she's afraid it'll never be the same again.

Bruce is too stubborn to admit that Dick is growing up and Dick is too stubborn to admit that Bruce is only being overprotective.

Honestly, the two are hard-headed enough to be a real father and son.

Dinah reaches the door and turns the heavy and stiff handle. Pushing the not-so-Dynamic-Duo from her mind, she settles for a welcoming smile as she closes the door and turns to face her fellow blonde.

The young archer before her is practically screaming for some care and compassion and Dinah worriedly wonders when the last time was that she had anything vaguely resembling a parent's love.

"Artemis," she acknowledges respectfully, "can I sit down?"

Artemis just stares at her warily, not speaking a word, so Dinah silently crosses the room and sits on the cot.

"How are you?"

The young-adult narrows her eyes but says nothing. Dinah sighs. This is going to be a tough one.

"I can only imagine how you're feeling-"

"I don't need your stupid therapy sessions, Lady," Artemis finally responds, surprising Dinah by her hostility, "Just send me to BlackGate already."

Dinah's eyes widen before she relaxes her features and analyses the girl. She's tense and angry, her emotions getting the better of her and making her short and snappy. Batman's right, she is a difficult one. But nothing she can't handle.

Reaching inside her jacket pocket, Dinah retrieves a small key and leans towards the girl on the chair. Artemis stiffens.

"What are you-"

"Just let me," Dinah sighs as the key slots into a hole in Artemis' cuffs and, with a twist, they drop to the ground, clanging loudly.

Dinah sits back.

"Better?"

Artemis does not reply and instead rubs at her wrists. Her body is still tense but there's no indication that an attack is imminent. Artemis knows when she is outmatched. _Clever girl._

"Why did you do that?" Artemis asks warily.

"So that you're more comfortable of course," Dinah replies warmly, "You know why you're here..."

"Yeah, so I can rat out my folks," Artemis scoffs, sliding down in the chair and crossing her arms defiantly, "tall, dark and gloomy told me and I'm going to tell you; it ain't happening!"

Dinah almost smirks at the nickname Artemis has generated for the Batman but sobers as she tries for a warm smile.

"Artemis," she begins, "We can help you if you just-"

"I won't _ever_ help you!" Artemis bursts as she leaps from the seat and throws her arms in the air. "I'm no traitor!"

"And what about your sister?" Dinah pushes, "isn't she the traitor, leaving you behind to take the fall?"

Artemis glares at her menacingly and moves towards Dinah as if to strike her, but soon gets the better of herself and slumps her shoulders, collapsing into the chair once more.

"I won't help you," she mutters determinedly, "I _won't._"

Dinah sighs as she stands, stretches her legs and makes her way towards the door.

"I'll give you some alone time," she says softly before pulling open the door after inputting the code and closing it behind her again.

Batman is waiting for her and Dinah jumps in surprise. _She really wishes he wouldn't do that._

"Well?" he inquires, marching along beside her as she retreats down the hallway.

"You're right," she admits, "she is difficult."

"You think she needs a little more persuasion?"

Dinah narrows her eyes. She knows exactly what type of _persuasion_ Batman is insinuating and she shakes her head rigorously.

"No," she says firmly, "she needs someone her own age."

* * *

**No Team, but they'll be back soon. I miss them already XD**

**Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

**Read. _Enjoy. _Review.**


	8. Revealation

**Author's Note: Hey there. I am SO sorry for being so late but exams are now OVER so I now have loads of free time to write. I also had a bit of difficulty with this chapter as I wanted to write Kaldur but realized that I had no idea how to write in his point of view! So this is a short chapter that I'm not entirely pleased with but the next update will be longer and sooner so I hope that will make up for it!**

**Without further ado...**

* * *

Chapter Eight:

Kaldur focuses on the pounding footsteps as he makes his way through the corridors of the Hall of Justice. His own, steady and firm on the ground, padding quietly as his bare toes make little noise. He is flanked by KidFlash on the left, his boots pounding but his feet light, and Nightwing on his right, silently following his leader.

He is apprehensive about the assassin they are about to meet and cannot draw a solid conclusion in what to think of her. She is skilled, hostile and dangerous, but Kaldur is unsure whether that is just Artemis the assassin or Artemis Crock.

A derisive snort from his left tells Kaldur exactly what Wally thinks of her. Kaldur knows that against all odds, Kidflash and Artemis have already had a bad start, but he hopes that Wally will be, at the least, mature enough not to be tempted in to losing his temper.

Kaldur can always hope.

Inhaling deeply, Kaldur enters the code given to him by Black Canary into the lock and watches as the password is accepted. He opens the heavy door with a firm push and steps inside, Nightwing and Kidflash behind him.

The door shuts with an echoing clang.

Kaldur finds Artemis sat on the cot, her legs crossed before her and her arms folded defensively over her chest. Her dark eyes are set in a glare.

"If you're here for a pep-talk, I'm not interested," Artemis breathes in a sing-song voice, "Batman and Black Canary have already tried and you are not getting anything from me."

Kaldur gazes at the young woman before him intently. He notes the way that eyes are like storm clouds, turbulent and unforgiving, and the way that they show more emotion than Artemis is letting on.

She's got a tough exterior, like Black Canary had told him yesterday, but Kaldur knows there is good within.

But now it's the Team's job to try and find it.

"Artemis," Kaldur greets curtly, nodding in her direction.

"Aqualad," she replies evenly, sitting up straighter and leaning forward.

"I do not believe it is necessary to tell you why we are here?"

"You can if you really want to, but I wouldn't waste my breath if I were you."

Kaldur notices the smallest of smirks play across Artemis' face and instantly he is aware that she is playing them.

It's all a game to her, like how everything is a game to her sister. Artemis and Cheshire are noticeably similar, and not just aesthetically, they share the same sly grace and cunning ability to turn the table in their favour. Artemis however, is nowhere near as confident as her sister.

She's not been in the game long, and Kaldur would prefer it if her failed assassination in Gotham is her last mission.

He can always hope.

"Do you have any idea where Cheshire might have fled after she detonated the bomb?" he asks her, voice neutral.

Artemis scowls and avoids eye-contact with him.

"No," she admits grudgingly after a while, "but I wouldn't tell you if I did!"

Kaldur believes her.

"Jeez, Blondie!" Kidflash exclaims, stepping forward and gesturing angrily, "there are kids' lives at stake here, we don't need to hear all about your stupid 'ninja code'!"

"Kidflash!" Kaldur addresses Wally loud and firmly, effectively silencing him.

Kidflash pouts angrily, which Kaldur expects. What surprises the Atlantean however is Artemis' bemused and stunned expression. For the first time her emotions and thoughts are clear on her face - before they are quickly concealed behind a well-practiced mask.

She reminds him of Nightwing a bit.

"W-what?" Artemis barely stutters but the hesitance is clear enough for Kaldur to pick up and for the first time since entering the room, it is he and his friends who have control of the situation.

"You _don't know_ what information we want from you?" Nightwing asks inquisitively, for the first time speaking since entering the cell.

"You want me to rat out the Shadows," Artemis replies darkly but her words are laced in uncertainty.

"Batman didn't tell you did he?" it's more a statement than a question and Nightwing chuckles mirthlessly, "_typical_."

"Well what information do you want?"

Artemis' guard is up again and she is once again defensive, but there is a tone of curiosity in her voice that is pulling free.

"A-about the heist involving the kidnapping and trafficking of kids to the League of Assassins that's what," Kidflash replies, though his tone is without spite and he seems genuinely surprised that he is one up from the archer.

Artemis' facade slips again and her eyes widen in surprise, her lips curling in disgust. Then, like before, the mask is back and her features are calm and collected.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Kaldur doesn't believe her but acknowledges that the three of them should not try to get any further in just one sitting. Cracking Artemis' shell would take time and patience.

As the door shuts behind them as they leave, Kaldur heads straight to the common room where he knows he will find someone who can help get through to the unforgiving storm in the cell behind them.

* * *

As the door's locks slide into place, Artemis uncoils her tense muscles and lets herself flop on to the cot in defeat. She doesn't know what to think.

First Batman, then Black Canary and now the three big players in the Justice League's team of sidekicks. Who's next?

This interrogation hadn't gone as well as she had hoped. Against all odds, Artemis had kept her cool and managed to survive Batman's grilling and had sailed through Black Canary's fail of a pep-talk. It's the Team that really got to her.

Maybe it's because they're of similar ages and so she felt less on guard than she should, or maybe it's because Kidflash just manages to get under her skin and utterly infuriate her just by being in the same room.

Actually, Artemis still feels practically furious and Kid_mouth_ is long gone by now. Maybe it's just his very existence that pisses her off.

Rolling over so that she faces the wall, Artemis lets out a sigh of frustration and kneads the pillow with her fist tightly until her knuckles go a sickly white. Letting go, she forces her body to relax and recuperate after her last interrogation. She will need the energy for her next questioning, which will no doubt be soon.

The conversation with Aqualad, Kidflash and Nightwing replays within Artemis' mind and she groans before squeezing her eyes shut. She had failed to keep it cool and had given away far too much in her body language. Kid_idiot_ might not have picked much up but she knows that Aqualad is smart and that Nightwing has no doubt gone away from their little meeting with a million things Artemis doesn't even know about herself.

The Bats are freaky like that.

Opening her eyes again, Artemis stares at the grey wall that is inches from her nose. She had claimed to not know anything to do with the trafficking of children to the Shadows but Artemis knows they'd seen through that lie.

It was one of the things mentioned in passing. Artemis wasn't privy to that information yet but she knows that her father plays a hand in the kidnapping. She's disgusted by it and wishes she could bury all knowledge of the dealings six feet under so that she doesn't have to face the ugliness that has reared its head.

She's good at that; running away from things she's too scared to face.

Artemis wonders briefly what would happen if she _does_ give away any information she possesses - a smaller sentence, a chance at a new life - but she quells that thought in disgust as soon as it possesses her. There is no other life for her. The one of killing and treachery was already carved for her the moment she was born.

No matter how much she earns for another life, Artemis must face the fact that the next assassination is all she will ever be moving towards.

She is no Alice. She is not allowed a Wonderland

Neither, she thinks, does she deserve one.

* * *

**Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

**Read. _Enjoy._ Review.**


	9. Seedling

**Author's Note: Hey Guys.**

**I am SO über sorry for being absent for so long but I have valid reasons!**

**1: Turns out I'm a lot busier than I thought I'd be.**

**2: I have had terrible writer's block and this made it difficult to write anything. Believe me. The chapter was soo hard to squeeze out.**

**BUT I'm back now and will hopefully get back to a regular (or at least semi-regular) routine in updating.**

**Thanks everyone for the support, feedback and kind reviews. You are all wonderful.**

**Without further ado...**

* * *

Chapter Nine:

Artemis has had enough of this tag-team by now. The heroes take it in turns to try to coax some information out of her, she mocks them, they disappear only to be replaced with another, equally as annoying, Justice League wannabe.

It's becoming tedious, and after Miss Martian's all-too-sweet attempt to get her to talk, Artemis is desperate to move around and get out of her prison.

Her limbs are itching for some action and she would personally like to decapitate whoever took her bow. If her baby is damaged in any way...Artemis will make it her mission to haunt her captors for the rest of their lives.

She's nice like that.

The boredom of solitude has forced Artemis to scour her ponytail for split-ends. the task is dull and dreary but it gives her fingers something meticulous to do whilst her mind wanders.

There is no clock in her cell, but Artemis estimates that she's been here for a day at least. Soon, the heroes, being the hospitable fools they are, would have to take her to a bathroom of some kind. Hopefully with a shower. She's starting to stink can't wait to scour the grime from her skin.

Food would have to be on its way too, right? Surely she wouldn't be allowed to starve. Especially as she is still withholding information that the League so desperately wants. Artemis smirks. She'll milk the situation for what it's worth. Eat their food, use their facilities...but as soon as she gets a hold of her bow and quiver again, she's out of here.

Artemis frowns, her brow furrowing and her lips puckering. The information they want...Artemis can't help but _want_ to give it to them. She'd rather not have learnt about the human trafficking after spying on her dad one night. It's the whole 'what you don't know can't hurt you' thing but Artemis feels like it's too late for her. She _does_ know, and she doesn't like it either. There is a list of nasty things that Artemis would rather not put up with but the trading of innocent children to the League of Assassins is not one of them. Still, she will never tell.

It's a case of pride then, Artemis thinks. Her own ego is what is keeping her biting her tongue, forbidding any secrets to leave her lips. It's the way she was brought up: trust nobody and tell nobody anything. Ever. It's a tough life but it's Artemis' life and she'll be damned if that was changing any time soon.

Artemis has never liked change.

The sudden grinding of metal startles Artemis from her thoughts as the door to her cell opens loudly. Instantly on the alert, Artemis drops her hair from her hands and sits up straighter, face emotionless. _Don't let 'em get you,_ _Artemis,_ her father would say, _they might know who you are but they'll never know you._

Into the room, steps Batgirl. Red hair and black cape swishing in the small breeze created by the swinging of the door. She stands proud, leaning against the door that is still wide open.

Artemis knows this isn't going to be like the other interrogations.

"You gonna come with or are you gonna stay in those manky clothes for a few more hours?"

Artemis is surprised by Batgirl's casual entrance and amused expression. Somehow, she feels more dangerous than Miss Martian, who she knows can do some serious damage with her mind, without laying even one finger on her.

Wordlessly, Artemis stands and follows Batgirl from her cell. Instantly, she's calculating ways of escape, taking in and memorizing the hallways and intersections. One left, two rights, another left. Artemis stalks Batgirl's silent figure, meticulous eyes already searching for weak spots in the armor beneath the billowing cape.

"Just so you know," Batgirl begins, breaking the silence with a lighthearted tone, "I wouldn't try to escape if I were you. This place is teeming with Leaguers and has enough security codes to melt your brain just _trying_ to hack them."

Artemis just smirks at the redhead's back. She thinks she might like her. Tough, calm and in control. Batgirl is not one to be underestimated.

She's about to ask where it is they are going, when she hears laughter echo through the halls. The laughter is followed by some loud exclamations and Artemis' smirk is pulled into a frown instantly. She'd recognize that annoying voice anywhere.

Taking another left, the two girls arrive at an intersection and, glancing to the left, Artemis spots the object of her annoyance, Kid _Moron_ with his buddy, Nightwing. The pair cease talking immediately and she sends a dignified scowl their way. It is returned with a glare from the ginger Speedster. _Really_, Artemis thinks, amused. She half expected him to stick his tongue out at her.

The girls continue walking past them but Artemis can almost feel someone watching her and when she turns around she's met with Kid Flash blowing a raspberry in her face. Snarling, Artemis raises a fist but the idiot is gone in a blur of yellow and red.

Turning around again, Artemis narrows her eyes in annoyance.

_Dork._

* * *

Wally watches Barbara disappear around the corner with _her_ and frowns. Why is she even here? It's not as if Interpol or the local authorities would be able to handle this better than them but...Wally doesn't like it.

There's something about Artemis that puts Wally on edge. She's clever, and skilled, and she knows it. The whole situation is utterly infuriating.

"Pick your mouth off the floor, Kid, or you'll catch flies," chuckles Dick, who comes to stand beside him.  
Throwing a good-natured scowl his way,Wally tears his eyes away from where the girls disappeared.

"I don't like it," he sneers for the umpteenth time since the Archer's arrival and Dick rolls his eyes.

"I don't see why," his friend remarks lightly, "I think it's gonna be great fun."

Wally mutters something along the lines of _'goddamn Troll'_ and Dick's smile widens to a grin.

Unanimously, the two heroes turn and begin to head to the common room. Wally is largely unfamiliar with the layout of the Hall of Justice, having grown accustomed to the Mountain which servers as the Team's base. However, it isn't as if they could keep Artemis in the Cave is it?

Batman would never allow it.

Wally frowns. This idea had been Batman's of all people. It was he who had tasked the Team to convince Artemis to give up the information. So far, the Archer had met every member of the Team and so far, every member of the Team had failed to get her to talk.

The exception being Batgirl that is. Wally doesn't know what Barbara has up her sleeve but being a Bat, he's not sure he wants to know. He just hopes it works.

The faster Artemis spills her beans, to quicker she's out of here.

Wally can't wait.

Footsteps muffled on the carpeted hallways, Wally scowls as he contemplates their predicament. The 'no major missions until Artemis talks' is a new rule that has his blood boiling. _Stupid, blonde archer-girl wasting my stupid time._

Wally doesn't really know why he has such a problem with her. Stealing a glance at his friend, whose face is neutral but content, makes Wally frown. No one else seems to have a problem with the villainess bar the complaints about the Blonde's obvious attitude problems. And even then, they seem more amused by the predicament than annoyed.

He honestly has no idea what his problem with the Archer is. Scratching his head absently, Wally tries to come with a logical solution to why he just can't stand her.

Maybe it's because all they've done during interaction time so far is bicker and call each other names. Maybe it's because she pointed out that he wasn't technically a _Kid_ Flash any more. Maybe it's because he agrees with her.

Or maybe it's because she's a murdering villain from a family of murdering villains and holds information about _children_ in danger and is refusing to utter a word.

Yep, that's probably it.

* * *

The steady thrumming of water over her body is relaxing and helps work out her coiled muscles and joints. She doesn't want to ever leave but then she remembers where she is. She scowls. Leaving, of all things, should be her top priority right now.

Sighing deeply, and breathing in the rich, humid aroma, Artemis shuts off the water in the shower and steps out, naked, into the communal bathroom. It's empty, Batgirl had the decency to make sure of that, but Artemis still swipes a towel the moment she see's one and swaths her, now clean, body in the soft and fluffy fabric.

Drying off, she notices that her costume has vanished from the spot where she had unceremoniously thrown it. In its place lies a clean pair of grey sweatpants and a plain white T-shirt. Artemis wrinkles her nose at the offering but picks them up anyway. She would rather swallow her pride than be naked on enemy territory.

She has never been trained to get out of _that_ situation.

Smiling wryly, Artemis dresses herself before wringing her dripping hair with the towel. Once her blonde locks are relatively less wet, she dumps the towel on the sidebar and pauses.

Straining her ears, Artemis can hear nothing bar the quiet gurgle as the water from her shower flows down the drain. Raking her eyes around her surroundings, a sly smile finds its way on to her face as she spots an air vent in the top left corner of the room. Easily accessible by simply standing on the wooden bench. Looking around again for a camera, even though she knows she won't find one (it's a bathroom for crying out loud!).

Trying her luck, Artemis hops onto the bench with silent ease and straightens up, examining the vent cover. It's bolted to the wall but with a good kick...

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Whipping around into a defensive crouch, Artemis finds Batgirl at the bathroom's entrance, an unimpressed but amused expression on her face. Artemis growls in frustration and she wants to leap over there right now, knock the redhead out and be on her merry way but she doesn't.

"I could have been naked!" she growls instead.

Batgirl laughs, damn her.

"I took my chances."

Narrowing her eyes, Artemis' shoulder slump as she gets down from the bench.

"Now what?" she snarls, "you gonna take me back to my little cage or what?"

"Actually, I'm meant to take you to your new quarters."

"Oh, a new cage. Yippee," Artemis deadpans.

As much as she loathes her situation, there is not much Artemis can do but follow Batgirl from the bathroom and down a new route through the twisting hallways. She could always go for the 'knock out and run' but she's not going to kid herself. She hasn't eaten in approximately a whole day and where she's weaponless, Batgirl is fully suited up and in control. Plus, she's been trained by the goddamn Batman. She doesn't really stand a chance.

Besides that, where would she run to? Artemis has stopped memorizing every corner they turn and has since forgotten the way back to her previous holding cell. Knowing her luck, she'd get lost and end up running into one of the big three. Or all of them. She's already met Batman, Artemis has no idea how well she'll fare against the likes of Superman or Wonder Woman.

Chances of escape are dwindling down into the minuses.

"You could always just talk, you know," Batgirl says, breaking Artemis out from her thoughts and rupturing the silence around them.

Artemis snarls.

"Yeah, like that's going to happen," she fires back, hotly.

Batgirl sighs in front of her before she come to a halt at a door with - guess what? - another computer-code lock.

"Just a suggestion," she remarks before pressing a button on the lock, "Access granted, BG B-one-six."

**Access Granted, Batgirl,** echoes a disembodied voice that Artemis pinpoints as the computer talking.

The door slides open and Artemis is pleasantly surprised (although she'd never admit to it) at what she finds. There's a comfortable enough looking room with a plastic table, two chair, and a cot. And there's also another door, open, that leads into a small bathroom. But what draws Artemis' eyes is the plate of steaming food on the table in the middle of the room.

She's moving up in the world.

A nudge in the back reminds her that she is not alone and she enters the room, followed by Batgirl. Artemis would normally head straight for her stomach's desire but her company makes her wary and so she stands, still and controlled in the center of her new quarters.

"Well, here's you for the next _however long you're here for_," Batgirl gestures, "I'd try some impressive Bat-tactics on you to get you to spill your guts but I'm not stupid. I know you'll only talk when you're ready."

"And that will be _never_," Artemis snorts ruefully.

Who does the redhead think she's kidding? Not her that's for sure.

"But when you are, I'll be here."

"Listen, _Red_," Artemis snarls suddenly, "You don't get it. I won't talk."

Batgirl sighs.

"You know," she says pensively, "I kind of understand."

Artemis stares at her incredulously. Understand what exactly? Understand what it's like to be beaten into submission, trained and twisted until you can't walk? Hurt people when you don't want to? Kill people and then try to bury the guilt and carry on as if your life is a walk in the park?

Be a constant disappointment?

Artemis snorts.

"You have no idea-"

"You're right," Batgirl interrupts suddenly, stunning Artemis into silence, "I don't know what it's like to be an assassin and have to kill people day and night," she pauses, "and I don't want to either, no offense."

Artemis is about to make some sort sarcastic reply but her redheaded companion continues.

"But I do know that life is a bitch," she snorts before looking at Artemis, "We're both Gotham girls. Anyone from Gotham can understand that things are tough and anyone from Gotham has done something they wish they hadn't."

No sharp-tongued reply comes from her mouth and Artemis is left to just stand there as Batgirl takes her exit.

"You'll talk when you're ready," she says, gentle but firm.

The door clangs shut.

Silence returns in waves that crash against Artemis' body and leave her flustered and angry. Batgirl's been playing her, tugging on her feelings and trying to get her to spill. There's no way she's be that nice.

Angrily, Artemis kicks over one of the plastic chairs before going to sulk on her new cot. The food doesn't look so appetizing any more and Artemis curls up, her back to the room, ignoring the raw ache in her stomach and treacherous doubt in her heart.

She shakes herself.

Doubt never does anyone any good.

Doubt gets you killed.

* * *

**...And _that _was a long chapter of..._nothing._ My bad :P  
**

**Read. _Enjoy._ Review**


	10. Breakthrough?

**Author's Note: Heya! Still trying to get back to an acceptable updating schedule...still incredibly busy...still suffering writer's block.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Ten:

The days blur together in insufferable boredom for Artemis as she contemplates escape for the millionth time, all while threading and unthreading her hair between her fingers.

Her ponytail smells like peaches from the shampoo provided for her in her little bathroom.

She hates peaches.

Staring at the ceiling from her place on the cot, Artemis absently wonders if the League of Shadows is looking for her. If her father or even Jade care enough to organize a rescue mission or two.

Probably not.

As much as she hates to admit it, Artemis has finally accepted that she is dead to the League: they don't care about her well-being, only the secrets they don't know she holds. The same goes for Lawrence: she has tarnished his spotless reputation by being so easily apprehended and if she knows her father at all, Artemis would bet that Sportsmaster is going around pretending he's never had more than the one daughter.

Jade is another story. A story with a plot too complicated for her mind to unravel and understand. Her sister is as unreadable as ever: at first, Artemis had thought she was like Lawrence; kill for money, terminating anyone who gets in her way, but their conversation on the rooftop in Gotham, just moments before her capture, has Artemis confused.

For a short, shining moment, Artemis had thought, with a renewed hope, that Jade actually _cared_ for her. In a family sort of way.

But Cheshire made made no attempt to rescue her as she tumbled to the street below, just watched on as her figure disappeared with the helicopter over the horizon.

Back to square one of understanding her sister, Artemis rolls onto her side with an indignant huff. It's at that moment that the door to her room opens with a quiet click and then a loud clang. The heavy metal door swings open to reveal a particular black-haired magician with a gaze of steel and an amused smirk.

God, Artemis hates Zatanna.

Well, not _hate_ hate like the kind of hate she feels towards Kid Flash, but the annoying, insufferable, loathing sort of hate because, _goddamnit_, she wants to like the black-haired girl.

She's sassy, sarcastic and can actually hold a relatively pleasant conversation with Artemis before the blonde remembers that she is an enemy and bites out a harsh insult. Artemis feels the same towards Batgirl. The two of them together, with their wit and wiles could probably get her talking with minimum effort.

It's a good thing the Justice League hasn't thought of that yet.

"What do you want?" Artemis snaps, refusing to make eye contact.

Zatanna does not move.

"I don't suppose you feel up to talking today?"

Artemis shoots a glare her way and she has the _nerve_ to laugh quietly.

"Thought not. C'mon, I have something to show you," Zatanna smiles and gestures out the door.

Reluctantly, the Blonde follows, curious.

There are no restraints or extra precautions provided as she follows the magician through the hallways but Artemis knows by now not to bother to attempt an escape. She knows that there are heroes swarming this place and she also knows that there are layers of security keeping her nice and cozy within the confines of her prison.

That doesn't mean she can't try.

Artemis is stubborn, and doesn't take no for an answer, so when Miss Martian had taken her for a 'tour' the previous day, Artemis wasted no time in trying to lose her green companion.

Of course, when said green companion has telepathic and telekinetic powers, it makes escape just a tad more difficult.

She had promptly been returned to her room before she'd even seen anything useful.

"Where are we going?" Artemis scowls, directed at the back of Zatanna's head.

"You've been cooped up for so long, we thought it'd be nice for you to stretch your legs."

"_'We'_?" Artemis asks for clarification.

"The Team," Zatanna supplies, "Except, Kid Flash was kinda against the idea. What did you do to piss him off anyway?"

Artemis just smirks. If Kid Flash's presence didn't annoy her so much she reckon's they'd have a great mutual friendship supported by their hate for each other. _Yes,_ she is aware of how twisted that sounds.

The two girls round a corner and Artemis has to blink in surprise at what she finds.

Before her, lies the largest gymnasium she has ever seen. It's polished wooden floor shines under the fluorescent lights and Artemis has to embarrassingly close her mouth after she realizes that her jaw is hanging open.

Looking around, Artemis' eyes find the most beautiful things in the room which simultaneously make her heart somersault in delight and her fingers itch in anticipation.

She grins, unashamed and open, for the first time since her capture.

Archery has always had that effect on her.

* * *

The next few days become a routine that Artemis follows with only mock complaint. She finds that she doesn't mind it really, but she throws out the insults anyway. They make her feel better.

There is food on the table when she wakes up, which she eats because she is not stupid ( she needs her strength if she's ever going to get out of here). Then a member of the young hero team takes her to the gym where she can let herself free with shooting at the various targets supplied (her last attempt at escape was foiled as she realized the arrows given to her are non-lethal and are only actually good for target practice). After this, she is taken back to her room where lunch awaits her. Whoever is watching her that particular day tries to get her to talk to no avail (Artemis will never admit that Nightwing's twisted 'good cop, bad cop' routine, where he changes from a goofy kid into a teenage Batman, almost gets her spilling the beans every time). Then her watchman admits defeat (it can range from hours - Aqualad, to mere minutes - Kid Flash). A few hours later, dinner is provided and later Artemis goes to bed, smug that she is still unyielding.

It's when this routine carries on for a further two weeks, with the Team becoming more and more impatient, when Artemis feels like she can't take this anymore.

After Artemis's last failed escape lands Kid Flash with a broken arm, currently suspending him from missions until it heals, he becomes her almost constant guard for the next few days.

Neither of them enjoy it.

Day one of Kid Flash's watch ends in a brawl after Artemis tells him she should have broken his neck instead.

Day two end with a food fight after Kid Flash kicks her chair out from under her as she goes to eat.

Day three ends with League intervention after Artemis and Kid Flash almost kill each other with the weights in the gym.

Neither speak to each other on days four and five.

After a week, the other members of the Team start visiting again and Artemis begins to notice that she is being allowed a hell of a lot more freedom.

The next day, she walks to the gym herself.

And returns to her room without complaint.

She starts talking back to her captors, holding conversations that don't revolve around heroes, villains, or the information which keeps almost slipping from her mouth.

It's not long before she realizes that she enjoys Nightwing's company. He's funny and cheerful. He obviously has his own daddy issues going on by the looks (or avoiding of looks) he gives Batman when the Dark Knight comes to visit her.

She doesn't ask him about it when she see's him again.

Artemis stops being so mean to Miss Martian ('call me M'gann' she starts to say) and it's not long before the Martian starts bringing freshly baked cookies with her on her visits.

Kid Flash is still annoying and a pain in the ass but Artemis can be in his company without blowing up at him for five minutes now. Progress.

She stops trying to escape.

It's when she's sitting in front of an actual TV, on an actual sofa, surrounded by the Team as they quarrel over what movie to watch that Artemis worries.

She doesn't know what side she wants to be on anymore.

* * *

Wally absently runs a hand through his hair as he makes his way towards the gymnasium. It' his turn to 'guard' Artemis today and he'd overslept this morning, resulting in his late appearance to the Hall of Justice.

It's just gone ten 'o clock so Wally knows that Artemis will be practicing her archery by now. He's noticed that she never stops, that she always makes an effort when it comes to the bow and arrows.

He kind of likes that about her.

After having the Blonde with them for just over one month, he's started getting used to her being around. That doesn't mean that he didn't argue with her over what movie to watch last night.

Wally enters the training room silently, which is an extraordinary feat for him, and watches as the Archer occupying the space jumps around with a flurry of movements with as much grace as a choreographed ballet dancer. She hits every target, twice, three times over. She never misses.

Artemis is seemingly oblivious to Wally's entrance and so he gazes with awe at her precision, her tactics, her movement and he would not deny it - her body. He's Wally, it's expected.

The Speedster has never seen this much concentration from the Blonde and would grudgingly admit that Artemis could easily give both Red and Green Arrows a run for their money. She is focused and meticulous and downright terrifying. If Wally didn't have his super-speed, he'd be floored by her in seconds.

He doesn't like to admit that.

Absently, Wally continues to watch Artemis as she practices and distractedly clears his drying throat.

In a millisecond, a projectile comes speeding towards him and Wally cannot fully comprehend that anything is happening until the arrow making a beeline towards him grazes his cheek sharply and embeds itself into the wall behind him before falling, broken, to the ground.

Shocked, a hand flies up to his grazed and bloody cheek. It stings and Wally turns his surprised expression to Artemis who is poised and ready to fire another arrow. Her hair is coming loose from her ponytail and is plastering itself to her sweaty forehead. She's breathing heavily, out of breath.

Wally stands, stunned for a moment or two, before he cries aloud in outburst.

"What the hell?" he demands, dumbfounded, "You could have killed me!"

"If I were trying to kill you, I would have used a _real_ arrow, Kid _Idiot_." Artemis replies offhandedly.

They both know it's true.

For a second, Wally thinks that the Team's efforts - his efforts - have all been in vain and Artemis will be the death of them all - until he see's that her eyes are shining in mirth and she's holding back a smug smile.

It's all just a game to her.

"You knew I was there, didn't you?" he says grudgingly.

"Of course I did," she replies and she's nearly smiling now. Nearly, "A deaf man could have heard you a mile away."

Wally pouts and crosses his arms over his chest. Artemis just lets a small sigh escape her lips as she swipes away the hair from her face and reaches for a water bottle on the floor.

"What were you doing, sneaking up on me anyway?" she asks, suddenly suspicious.

Wally sobers instantly, the amused expression draining from his features,

"I need to talk to you."

* * *

**Read. _Enjoy. _Review.**


	11. Salvage

**Author's Note: GAH I'm such a terrible person. I feel awful for not updating in so long but I've been SO busy! Honestly! Unfortunately, it's not going to get any better as school starts again next week and as I'm entering Sixth Form, it means a whole lot more work than before. Sorry about that. (Also, the Writer's Block is still attacking my brain).**

**I want to thank everyone who has read, favourite-d reviewed and followed this story. You guys are total Rockstars.**

**Anyway, I won't keep you waiting any longer~**

* * *

Chapter 11:

The rapid, constant pounding of a red boot on the linoleum flooring does very little to calm Wally's jittery heart. He's surprising even himself with his decision. Who would guess he'd willingly talk with an angry Blonde who hates his guts? Not Wally, that's for sure.

They're back in Artemis' room. The Archer is sat in the plastic chair at the table, an annoyed expression becoming more and more intense upon her features. Her arms are crossed over her chest (a chest Wally is _not_ looking at) and her eyes are narrowed.

Finally, it seems she can't stand it anymore.

"Would you please stop doing that!" she exclaims angrily, gesturing at his vibrating boot.

Wally scowls but resists the urge to fire out a variety of sarcastic retorts. That would be counter productive. Not to mention pointless.

He stops tapping his foot.

The Team have been graced with Artemis' company for just over five weeks now and whilst they've made various breakthroughs in cracking the Blonde's tough shell, they're no further in actually getting her to talk.

Wally intends to change that.

"Right," he sighs, before crossing the room and collapsing onto the cot, "we need to talk."

Artemis' eyes narrow further as Wally makes himself comfortable on her bed but does not call him out on it.

"I got that when you said it the first time, _Genius,_" she says instead.

Frowning, Wally turns so that he can see Artemis glaring at him. Without the villain get-up, and with her hair down around her, the Blonde is actually quite beautiful (though Wally would never admit to thinking that) and he can see why she caught his eye back at the President Wilson in Geneva. Was that really over a month ago?

Wally wishes he could say 'hate at first sight' but he can't.

Rubbing at his nose, the Redhead decides to just go for it.

"Why _won't_ you talk?" he asks at last.

He notices that Artemis is visibly surprised by his question, though she covers up her initial shock quickly and replaces it with the familiar scowl.

"Why _would_ I talk?" she hisses.

Wally groans. He's anticipated not getting any straight answers from the Assassin but it's still frustrating.

"What I mean is," he quickly amends, "what's _stopping_ you from talking?"

"What do you mean?"

Wally huffs before sitting up on the cot so that he's not looking at her sideways.

"What's stopping you from talking?" he repeats, before explaining himself, "like, surely you'd benefit from it, really?"

The shorter prison sentence that he's hinting at remains silent in the air between them.

Artemis leans forward so that her hair spills over her shoulders and swaths her like silk. Her turbulent eyes flash dangerously.

"You think that if I talk, I can go on my merry way?" it's a statement more than a question and Artemis' voice is low and dangerous, "you think that everything'll be good as gold after I'm done with my sentence?"

Wally gulps and fingers the compartment on his right glove. He'd eaten the snack bar about an hour ago when bored and he is seriously regretting that decision now.

"I talk to you and I'm _dead,_" Artemis continues, "The Shadows find out what I do - hell - if my _dad_ finds out what I do then I'm _dead._"

Silence hangs heavy between them and seems to buzz with electricity. Wally can practically see the sparks shooting from and dancing in her eyes. He's staring at her now, he knows that it's unnerving, but he won't let it get to him.

"So, you'd rather save your own skin than the lives of innocent kids?" Wally whispers, "what does that make you?"

Artemis' eyes widen before she quickly stares down at her feet. Wally can see a war raging in her eyes but her can't tell which side will win the battle: the side where she gives in, or the side where she flips out and tries to break his neck like previously promised*.

Wally's hoping for the former.

After two minutes and still no reply, Wally takes a second to study the girl in front of him. The way her frown puckers at her brow, the way her eyes give away her feelings like a picture book, the way her teeth are ground together in a silent snarl and the way her knuckles turn white at the intensity in which she grabs at the fabric on her knees.

Wally's never been anything like a detective (that title is reserved for the bats and the bats only) but he's learnt a thing or two from Dick over the years about reading people.

If his predictions about Artemis' current behaviour are correct, then it'll shed some light on the situation.

Quietly, Wally clears his throat.

"You're scared aren't you?"

"Am not!" Artemis returns to life with an angry exclamation.

"Are too," Wally argues before continuing, "You're afraid of what will happen to you."

"You have no way of proving that!" she snarls, on the obvious defensive.

"Maybe I can't, but I'm sure I could confirm my theory if I bring in the Bat."

"Oh please," Artemis snorts, "he doesn't scare me."

Wally wants to tell Artemis that she might be crazy. Even after knowing his identity for roughly four years (just when did Dick reveal his identity as Robin to him?) Batman still terrifies the hell out of him. Anyone who isn't afraid of him has to have some sort of problem.

"Maybe not," he says, "but I'm sure I could ask Nightwing just as easily."

Artemis huffs and Wally smirks. He knows that the Blonde gets along with his best friend extraordinarily well, considering she'd supposed to be a heartless bitch. In fact, Artemis gets along with Batgirl quite well too, maybe it's a Gotham thing.

It's then that Wally realizes that Artemis gets along fairly well with the entire Team excluding him. He is not jealous of that.

_Well._

If Wally hadn't been so caught up in his resentment for the Archer he might have noticed that she wasn't this hostile towards anyone else. When they first captured her, sure, but now? Wally realises that the only reason Artemis seems to hate him is because he has been hating her right back. Coming to the conclusion, begrudgingly, that this whole predicament is his own fault, Wally drags a gloved hand through his short, red hair and puffs out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

He tries for a new angle.

"Okay," he begins again, tone lighter, "say you do talk," and he holds up a hand here to stop Artemis from interrupting, "hypothetically, of course. If you give us the information the League won't hesitate to put you in some protection scheme or something."

Artemis' eyes are focused on him but her gaze is not aggressive.

"I don't want to live the rest of my life in hiding," she murmurs quietly, her voice more gentle than he's ever heard.

"But you're willing to live the rest of your life as a murderer?"

As soon as he says it, Wally wishes he could take it back. Cursing profusely within his mind, Wally watches, wide-eyed, as the Blonde's gaze hardens and he can almost see her guard return as anger boils on her face. Suddenly, she's shouting.

"What I do with my life is none of your business!" she jumps up from the chair, her posture menacing, "You don't know me!"

And then Wally's on his feet too but he prevents himself from returning her snarls in hope of salvaging the situation.

"You think you're _so_ high and mighty don't you?" she screaming now, and advancing in his direction, "Well you're not! Of all the people you could have chosen to glean this information from you chose me? Why?"

Wally is at a loss for what to say but during the Assassin's rants he finds himself in front of the door with little recollection of when he moved. Maybe it was after Artemis started brandishing her fists at him.

"What do you think you could possibly _salvage_ from me?" her voice breaks and falters.

Wally takes a step towards her.

"Artemis-"

"Get out," her voice is low,thick and dangerous, "I said, _get out,_ alright!"

Wally freezes for a moment, contemplating the millions of ways he's managed to screw this situation up completely, before he notices the tears running down Artemis' face. His breath hitches. Then suddenly he's on the other side of the door, the metal slamming in his face. Sliding down the cold, hard door, Wally drops is head in his hands.

How did it go so wrong so fast?

* * *

The door slams shut with a resounding crash and angrily, Artemis kicks the stupid plastic chair with all her might. The chair slams into a wall with a bang and the metal legs bend under the sudden force.

The tears are streaming down her face in rapid salty streams now and no amount of frustration can get them to stop. They roll, fat and heavy, down her cheeks, into her mouth (she recoils at the taste) and over her chin. Letting out a harsh cry that's somewhere between a broken sob and an angry yell, Artemis sinks down to the floor and leans against the metal door which she just threw Kid Flash out of.

Confused doesn't even cover a millimeter of it. Her mind is in disarray and she's not sure how to deal with any of it. First off, she'd been successfully unyielding. She was proud of that. She could deal with that. But then she'd started to _enjoy_ herself and her company. The heroes, whether it was their plan all along or not, had tricked her into a false sense of security, damn them! For a short time she'd actually felt _content._

And then the doubt had laid its deadly seed and had blossomed without her realising, which ultimately resulted in Kid Flash catching her off guard. And then that finds her a mess on the floor.

She's supposed to be stronger that this, _damn it_!

_But he's right._ A voice whispers in her mind that sounds eerily like Jade. _No matter how much you dislike him, he's got you pinned._ Snarling in frustration, Artemis rams her clenched fist into the door behind her with enough force for the collision to echo around the room. Bringing back her stinging hand into her lap, she clenches her eyes shut in a furious attempt to halt the waterworks.

It doesn't help.

Despite it all, the voice in her head (is she crazy now? She honestly wouldn't be surprised) is right. Kid Flash has unknowingly (because he's way to dumb to have thought it through beforehand) pinned her down by voicing her own fears. Just how did he _do that_?

Artemis hadn't really realised what she feared most about revealing her secrets to the League until Kid Flash had spoken them aloud for her to hear. She _is_ afraid of being tracked down by the Shadows. She_ is_ afraid of being captured by her father. And she doesn't want to sit around in a hidey-hole in the Bahamas or somewhere waiting for the inevitable.

Because, they _will_ find her and they _will_ kill her.

Artemis never really realised just how scared she was of her own people before now. No, not scared. Terrified.

And the worst of it, is that she _really, really_ wants to tell the Team all that she knows. Why? Maybe there's a conscience deep down within the recesses of her soul somewhere. Maybe it's the part of her that believed her mother when the woman used to tell her that she would get out of the game one day and they'd be a _real_ family.

Artemis doesn't know and she's too upset to care right now. Her head is pounding with arguments as one side tells her to get out of here as fast as she can, high-tail it back to the Shadows, and beg them for forgiveness. The other side is convincing her to give in and let the heroes do their job. It's the least she can do.

She never wanted to be a part of this. She's never wanted to kill anyone but that choice was taken from her hands the moment that her mother was taken away from her. Does she _want_ innocent children to be uprooted from their homes and carted off to be forced under the same ruthless training regime as her or worse? No, of course not. Artemis knows that for sure. But does she want to betray the only life she's ever known for a chance at a new beginning? It's starting to sound tempting. Artemis scowers her mind for answers.

What would Lawrence do? Artemis manages to scoff around a sob. Sportsmaster would stay quiet before the moment arrives when he could bust out, taking as many casualties as possible with him.

What would Jade do? Artemis' brows furrow. Cheshire would probably play along, give away false information and then trick them all before disappearing without a trace like her namesake.

What would Paula do? Artemis doesn't know. her mother had always been the best of them, but she's dead.

Her face is hurting from trying to keep the tears at bay but the instant she falters, her eyes spill forth fresh waves of treacherous droplets and soon Artemis is finding it hard to breath again.

What would _Artemis_ do? _Artemis_ would stay quiet until rescue comes her way. _Artemis_ would return to the life of an assassin without complaint. _Artemis_ would be a good little girl for Daddy.

Would she?

Gingerly, Artemis slides onto her side so that she is laying on the cool linoleum floor. She cradles her knees and watches in silence as the tears form new tracks over her nose and onto the ground.

No, _Artemis_ wouldn't do that. Because_ Artemis_ is going to make her own decisions for once in her miserable life.

It's roughly an hour or two later when Nightwing walks in to find Artemis still curled up on the floor, face now dry, and staring numbly ahead of her. She spots his feet and jumps up onto her own.

She stumbles a little and he catches her.

Looking up, Artemis fixes the Hero's masked eyes with a fierce gaze and instantly she knows that he understands her intentions without having to speak a word. She does anyway.

"I'll tell you everything I know."

* * *

*** Refers to when Artemis broke Wally's arm in the previous chapter.**

**Revelations**** baby! Things are going to change from now on and the pace will definitely pick up :D**

**Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

**Read. _Enjoy. _Review.**


	12. Redemption

**Author's Note: Hey guys, I know it's been FAR too long but here's the deal; school started up again and I am telling you now: nothing is as terrifying as the '_jump from GCSE's to A-level_' as my teachers like to call it. I have been faced with the largest amount of work I've EVER had before. Not only was I bombarded with this big change but a storm hit a couple weeks ago which destroyed our internet (I died inside) and it two AGES to get it back up again. The tip of the iceberg though was the untimely death of my laptop. After a few weeks, I managed to secure a temporary laptop (which is what I am writing on currently) and I have no idea when I will be able to get a replacement.**

**To all reviewers, favouriters and followers: You guys are amazing. Seriously.**

**To guest reviewer, Artemisssss C: Don't worry! I'll never abandon this story, no matter how long it takes to complete!**

**Anyway, enough about my depressing life XD I really hope this chapter is worth the wait...**

* * *

Chapter 12:

She's back in the interrogation room. Grey walls, grey floors - the lot. Artemis reckons that if it were the Team interrogating her then they'd be in her cell - room - but it's not. It's Batman who's sat opposite her with a steely mask of bad moods, his mouth pressed into a thin line. Neither have said anything yet and they've been sitting in silence for over ten minutes. Artemis guesses that he's waiting for her to speak first.

She clears her throat nervously and prays that her voice does not crack or tremble.

"What do you want to know?" she asks at last, voice not nearly as steady as she'd hoped.

"Anything and everything concerning the trafficking of children to the Shadows."

Batman's voice is gruff and demanding.

"I don't -" Artemis hesitates, "I don't know much. I'm not supposed to know at all but I was thirsty one night so I got up - must have been past midnight - to get a drink and my dad was in the kitchen-" she trails off as she realises that Batman probably doesn't care about her story.

She rushes on.

"Anyway, I heard him talking with a man - I don't know who it was - and they were talking about a shipment," she confesses, "my dad said that 'all the brats are coming in and are ready to be shipped off' and the other man said that he didn't know why the Shadows wanted kids."

Batman's expression has not changed but he leans forward slightly and Artemis perceives this reaction as interest.

"And?" he presses.

"I was in the doorway listening and the man said something about it 'all going down in Gotham."

At this, Batman is definitely more interested and his eyes bore into hers with a certain silent challenge.

"Did Sportsmaster or the other man say where exactly the shipment is taking place?"

"Not that I heard," Artemis answers, uneasily.

She can tell that the man is disappointed with her poor snooping skills.

"Did they mention _when_?"

"Umm..." Artemis strains her memory and her head jolts up as she remembers, "December," she recalls confidently, "the 18th."

Batman inhales sharply.

"What's wrong?" Artemis asks, alarmed.

"December the 18th...is today," he informs her, almost reluctantly.

Her eyes widen in disbelief. They might be too late!

Batman stands up suddenly and briskly, his chair scraping back on the floor with a shriek. Surprised, Artemis watches as he heads towards the door and wrenches it open. He stops to look back at her.

"Is there anything else you know?" he demands.

"No," she shakes her head in disappointment.

"Very well. Black Canary will deal with your sentence. Thank you," he says, shocking Artemis with the barely detectable sincerity, "for your co-operation."

"Batman," she calls before the dark knight can disappear.

"What is it?"

"How did you know I had this information?"

The same question had been lurking in the back of her mind since her fist interrogation with the hero.

"I didn't."

Then Batman is gone with a billow of black cape and Artemis winces as she thinks about the future. She wonders what's in store for her and if she'll survive the next - _however long_ \- she'll be in prison for. Too long, probably, and there's nothing more she can do to change that. Or dampen the guilt drowning her insides.

It's then that Artemis realises that there _is_ something she can do. Something crazy and most definitely stupid, sure, but _something_ is a whole lot better than nothing.

Jumping up, Artemis races out of the open door. She runs through hallway after hallway before coming to a halt. She has no idea where she's headed and if she doesn't figure that out fast then she'll be too late and that last taste of redemption will never be hers.

Then, like a strange miracle, she hears Kid Flash's laughter echo somewhere to her right. Gleeful, Artemis sprints down the direction where she heard the unattractive snort originate. She doesn't think the annoying Speedster's voice has ever sounded better to her. A few seconds later. Artemis literally collides with the redhead at the next junction but she doesn't give him her usual snarl. Instead, she jumps up with vigour and faces Kid Flash and Nightwing as they regard her with suspicious expressions.

"What are you doing?" Kid Flash frowns at her.

"Where are you going?" she demands eagerly, ignoring him.

"That's none of your business."

Artemis rolls her eyes impatiently before regarding the idiot's friend.

"You're going to stop the trade aren't you?"

Nightwing regards her coolly but he's no Batman and Artemis can tell that he's somewhat amused.

"Maybe we are, why should that matter to you?" Kid Flash answers instead.

Artemis rounds on him. Without even thinking, she pins him up against the wall before his superspeed brain can process what is happening.

"Listen, Kid _Idiot_," she growls menacingly, "I _know_ the Shadows. I _know_ Gotham," she lets him go before her voice takes on a pleading note, "take me with you."

Kid Flash snorts in amusement as he rubs the shoulder she had grabbed but Nightwing looks interested and she pins him with the best hopeful baby-eyes she can muster. It's probably not very effective - she's pretty sure it looks like she's swallowed a lemon. As Kid Flash's laughs subside, he glances at his friend in horror.

"Dude," he offers weakly, "you can't seriously be considering this!"

"Why not, Kid?" he wonders, "wouldn't Batman _hate_ it?"

There's a devilish smirk on his face and Kid Flash's eyes grow large and he pales dramatically.

"Dude-"

"Don't worry, I'm just joking, KF," he laughs before turning to Artemis again.

Her regards her intently and Artemis feels unnerved under his masked gaze.

"Can I trust you?" he asks softly.

"Yes!" she answers immediately but Kid Flash interrupts once more.

"No - we can't trust her - she's a Shadow!"

"_Was_," Artemis interrupts him.

"KF," Nightwing says urgently, "this _Shadow_ just gave up information that could possibly help save a few hundred kids!"

"What if it's a trap?"

"One that she'd willingly walk into?"

Kid Flash glares at both of them, defeated. It's two against one and Artemis can tell that the Speedster does _not_ like to lose.

"Fine," he deadpans, then to Artemis, "but it's not him you have to convince. It's Aqualad's decision."

Somehow, Artemis feels like the odds are in her favour. If she can convince a Bat, whose to say she can't convince the talking fish too?

* * *

"Absolutely not."

"But Aqua-"

"I must apologise, Artemis, but I cannot betray the League's trust by allowing you to accompany us."

Wally grins at their leader's response. He had hoped that this would be the answer.

"Since when has the League's approval ever stopped us before?" M'gann pipes up from Conner's side and Wally looks at he desperately.

He watches as Artemis flashes the green-skinned girl a grateful glance but the Archer has hit a dead-end with this one. Kaldur is too righteous, too honest and way too goody-goody to allow and assassin or former-assassin to accompany the Team on a mission.

They're at the zeta-tube in the Hall of Justice and Wally can tell that Artemis is more than a little unnerved by the hoards of people pressing their noses against the large window above. She hides her face in her hair in vain attempt to conceal her identity.

"What if I vouch for her?" Barbara questions from her place at the computer terminal.

"I'd vouch," Zatanna smiles and Raquel nods in approval.

"Vouching," she grins confidently.

"Me too!" M'gann exclaims excitedly.

"So what is this, girls against guys?" Conner asks.

"Not exactly," Dick grins and Wally buries his face in his hands, "I'll vouch for Artemis."

This could not be happening. So what if he had gotten over his 'hate' for the Blonde? He still didn't trust her. Besides, she could get hurt and then it would be their fault. Not to mention Batman's wrath when then return.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Garfield pipes up from his lounging position on the nearest sofa.

"No!" Wally shoots in.

Garfield pouts but M'gann gives him a sympathetic smile.

"What do _you_ think, Gar?" she asks sweetly.

The green boy look at them all innocently for a moment before launching into his speech.

"Personally," he begins and Wally groans, "I think that Artemis should go with you guys to _prove her loyalty and seek redemption for her troublesome past by righting wrongs and fighting for justice_," Garfield continues to show off his impressive vocabulary and practiced speech, "but I'm _not on the Team_ so what do I know?"

Garfield smirks but his hint does not go unnoticed.

"_You_ can't come with us, Gar," M'gann apologises but the fuzzy eleven year-old pretends not to hear and goes back to his video game.

Conner considers Artemis and Wally can see her squirming under his gaze.

"No funny business?" he asks at last and Wally can't push down the growing dread.

"I promise," Artemis confirms, her voice genuine.

Conner nods in approval and Wally decides he can't take it any longer.

"What!" he exclaims, bursting, "You guys can't seriously be considering this!"

"Why not?" Barbara asks smoothly and Wally is caught under her scrutinizing gaze.

_Damn Bats._

"Because -" he's flustered now, "because it's her!"

"_Her_ has a name you know," Artemis glares at him from under her hair.

Wally stick his tongue out at her before he realises that everyone is watching. Clearing his throat loudly, he rambles on.

"But she's - she could get in danger or get hurt or-"

"Aww, so you do care," Artemis purrs and Wally shuts up instantly.

Kaldur glances between the two of them and then at the Team. With a sigh, he pinches at the bridge of his nose before turning to Artemis once more.

"Very well," he allows, "You may come with us as long as you vow not to betray us."

"I promise - er - vow - whatever," Artemis replies happily, "I won't betray you is what I mean."

"Do I have you word?" Kaldur asks, reaching out a webbed hand.

"You have my word."

Artemis takes his hand, shaking it firmly, and Wally groans on the inside.

Having come to a decision, Wally joins the Team as they zeta to the cave (Barbara signs Artemis in as a 'guest'). Once back in preferred surroundings, the Team split up and M'gann takes Artemis excitedly by the arm to where her suit and arrows are waiting.

Wally is about to zip to the kitchen in order to snarf as much food down as possible to calm the unease when Dick grabs him by the shoulder.

"What's your problem with Artemis, Wally?" he asks quietly.

He suddenly finds the floor very interesting and begins to count the number of scuff marks beneath his feet.

"Wally."

Wally looks up at his best friend finally but cannot find anything to say. In all honesty, he's not sure why he and Artemis never got along like the Archer does with the others. She's hostile, he's rude, she's defensive and he jumps to conclusions. It occurs to him that he's not been particularly fair to the Blonde and whilst the others had wasted no time in getting her to trust them, Wally had been caught up with the girl who had managed to get a luck shot and slice his ear open.

A gloved hand wanders idly to said ear and, even through the fabric of his mask, he knows that it has completely healed. Not even a scar remains, _thank you_ accelerated healing.

Maybe, like his ear (Wally is aware of the poor metaphor), he should forget the angry assassin in favour of accepting an equally as angry girl trying to do something right for the first time in her life.

"I don't know, Dick," he admits at last, "It's our responsibility if she gets hurt and-"

"So you're worried about her," Dick summarises, "it wouldn't be the first time you've been worried about some one on a mission."

Wally frowns.

"I am _not_ worried-"

"You have a crush on her, it's fine - I understand."

"I do _not_ have a _crush_ on her!" he exclaims hotly but he can see Dick cracking up and trying to withhold his laughter.

Wally glares at him moodily.

"C'mon Dude," Dick says, laughter subsiding as he claps a hand on his back, "the Bioship awaits."

Wally rolls his eyes at his friend's antics but follows him as they board the red aircraft. He's surprised to find almost everyone already inside and nervously takes the empty seat next to Artemis, who is clad in familiar green and clutching a bow. The Blonde doesn't look at him as he fastens his seat-belt and so he leans over and taps her on the shoulder lightly.

"Hey," he begins awkwardly.

"What do you want - have another go at proving that I'm _untrustworthy_?" she glares out of the window.

"No, I-uh," he stutters, "I think you'll do great, actually."

Artemis glares at him suspiciously for a moment before accepting the sincerity in his words and allows a small smile to grace her features.

"Thanks?" she questions but Wally does not have time to answer before Kaldur boards the ship and takes a seat.

"Are we ready?" he asks the Team.

"Ready to go," chirps M'gann from the helm as the loading bay's doors open.

Wally turns to Artemis who has a delighted smirk on her face which makes her look years younger and a hell of a lot more friendly.

"Ready."

* * *

**And...there ya have it.**

**1: This story begins roughly a week after Wally's 19th birthday (November 11th) and counting the days that Artemis has been held prisoner (roughly 5 weeks) this makes the day December 18th.**

**2: For purposes mainly to satisfy myself, Dick's birthday is not December 1st but March 22nd. I don't usually like straying away from canon (apart from AU's) but in comics (or some at least) his birthday is the first day of spring and that is just too adorable for me not to use. in. every. of. my. fics.**

**If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and I hope that this chapter was worth the long wait. Now i have to work on the next chapter for 'Resurgence' which i have neglected for far too long.**

**Read. _Enjoy. _Review.**


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